Broken
by Neurotica
Summary: Revised. AU. Truths Universe. There's been an escape from Azkaban.Remus arrives in Surrey with his one remaining friend.A large black dog is camping out in the forest next to a playground.And a little boy with black untidy hair is in the middle of it all.
1. One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters or situations you recognize in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling.**

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* * *

**_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_One_

Sitting alone in a wooden sandbox located in the center of a playground in Little Whinging, Surrey, a five-year-old boy with untidy black hair drew shapes in the sand. The month of July was nearing its end and the boy certainly knew what this meant: he would turn six in just a few days. While most children his age were thrilled about their upcoming birthdays, this particular boy didn't have much to look forward to. For as long as he could remember, he'd lived with his aunt and uncle, and they never gave him any reason to celebrate his birthdays. He never really understood why he lived with them; all the kids in his class lived with their mums and dads. Why didn't he?

Maybe he was just weird?

Well, he knew that...

The strange scar on his forehead was evidence enough of that. Not to mention his so-called family informed him that he was indeed a freak of nature on a regular basis. He'd made things happen before, things that shouldn't have been possible. One time, his cousin Dudley had been pushing him around again, and somehow, Dudley had tripped and fallen. Harry hadn't even been near him... Dudley ended up knocking over Aunt Petunia's favorite lamp. Dudley hadn't been blamed, of course; Dudley was perfect. The smaller boy had been locked in his cupboard for a week after that...

He often wondered if anyone had ever loved him. If they had, then why did he have to live with his aunt and uncle? Had he done something to make his mum and dad not want him anymore?

A cat meowed behind him, causing him to start a bit. "Hello, Mr. Tibbles," he said quietly to the tabby cat, looking around the playground. Mrs. Figg had to be around there somewhere...

"There you are, Mr. Tibbles," said the familiar voice of the boy's babysitter. "We've been looking all over for you. Ah, Harry, how are you today?"

"Fine, Mrs. Figg," Harry responded, squinting against the summer sunshine. Suddenly, the sunshine was gone; it had been blocked by a tall shadow.

"Oh, Harry, this is my friend... Norris," Mrs. Figg explained, picking up Mr. Tibbles.

The man called Norris knelt down to Harry's level, still blocking out the sunlight, and smiled slightly. "Hello, Harry," he said quietly.

"Hi," Harry said shyly.

The man had sandy-colored hair and bright blue eyes that looked quite sad. He was dressed nicely in a long-sleeved blue shirt and black trousers. He seemed vaguely familiar to Harry.

Harry and the man studied one another for a few moments. The man seemed to be on the verge of reaching out and touching Harry, but resisted. Mrs. Figg watched them with an odd look in her eyes.

"Re—_Norris_, I think it's time we go. We've got that dinner engagement soon," Mrs. Figg said, struggling to keep Mr. Tibbles in her arms.

Norris cleared his throat and nodded. "It was nice to meet you, Harry," he said, extending a hand to the small boy. Cautiously, Harry shook his hand. He watched Mrs. Figg and Norris leave the playground together, Mrs. Figg whispering something to the strange man as they went. Norris looked over his shoulder at Harry one last time, ignoring the woman.

Not long after, Harry decided it was time to head back to his aunt and uncle's house. Dudley would be getting hungry soon (when was Dudley not hungry?) and that was the only time Harry was allowed to eat. As he walked down the sidewalk, wiping sand from his hands and too-big jeans, he wondered why Mrs. Figg's friend seemed familiar to him...


	2. Two

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Two_

The man Mrs. Figg introduced to Harry as Norris sat in Arabella's kitchen, his head in his hands. He hadn't seen Harry since the child was just over a year old, and the circumstances were far from what anyone would call normal.

"Here, Remus, have some tea; it'll calm your nerves," Arabella said, setting a flowered ceramic cup before the young man.

Remus Lupin lowered his shaking hands from his face and picked up the cup. "He's just so... not Harry," he muttered sadly before taking a sip of the bland tea. While Arabella had her back turned, Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. He pointed it into his tea and muttered something—sugar and honey shot from the tip of the wand, the contents of the cup stirring automatically.

"It's like I told you before, Remus, the boy's been made to think he's worthless," Arabella said, sitting across from the troubled wizard. "And you best be careful what you say around him; there's a reason Dumbledore asked you not to come here."

"I barely said a word to him!" Remus said defensively. "And I'm well aware of Dumbledore's wishes," he added slightly bitterly.

"It's for everybody's good," Arabella said firmly.

"Things have changed, Arabella, and Dumbledore knows that. I just wish he wasn't always so damned sure of himself," Remus said. Arabella muttered something inaudible as she stood and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Remus to brood over his tea.

He'd arrived at Arabella's home two nights previous after receiving a letter from his former Headmaster. To say the very least, Remus had been shocked by the news. He never thought it at all possible for something like this to happen; it had never been done before.

So after reading that letter, he'd packed a couple overnight bags that had definitely seen better days and Apparated to Arabella's home in Little Whinging. Regardless of how Dumbledore felt, Remus needed to be close now. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Headmaster to keep Harry safe, but Remus could sleep better knowing for a fact that the five-year-old hadn't been brought any harm.

"Remus," Arabella called from her living room. "You might want to see this."

Remus drank the last of his tea quickly, stood, and went to the next room. On Arabella's television was a face he hadn't seen in years. It was a face he'd come to despise. The man on the television screen had a sunken, gaunt face with dead, hollow grey eyes. His black hair hung just past his shoulders, and was matted and dirty. The picture of the man on the television stood still, but Remus was sure that if it hadn't been charmed that way, the man would be laughing about the crimes he'd committed five years ago.

"My god, he looks horrible," Arabella whispered.

Remus didn't reply, but he did agree. He'd known that face for fifteen years. He'd seen that face full of laughter and mischief, anger and grief. That face had belonged to a man who had once been one of Remus' best friends—his brother. After his betrayal, however, Remus had only hoped he would rot for what he'd done to Lily, James, Peter, and Harry. Remus held no sympathy for Sirius Black, and hoped he would show up on Privet Drive during Remus' stay. Remus wouldn't mind taking out a little frustration and anger on his former friend.

The doorbell rang and Remus snapped out of his daze. The newscaster had gone from discussing a dangerous escaped convict to dancing penguins at the London Zoo. Arabella had gone to answer the door, and Remus found himself in much need of a strong drink and a chair—he'd have to settle for the chair at the moment.

"Ah, Remus, wonderful to see you again, my boy," said a familiar voice from behind Remus.

Remus turned and smiled sheepishly at the sparkling blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore. "Hello, sir," he said, standing and shaking hands with the Headmaster. "How are you?"

"Just fine, Remus, just fine," Dumbledore said, sitting in Arabella's armchair—the cat beneath him barely missed being squashed.

To avoid thinking about Sirius Black for the moment, Remus wondered how it was possible for a wizard over a century old to arrive in a Muggle neighborhood wearing bright purple robes and not be seen. Did he use Muggle repellent charms on his clothes? Or did he just disguise himself with concealment charms? Probably the latter...

"Would you care for some tea, Dumbledore?" Arabella asked, shoving her cats away from the Headmaster—for some reason, they wouldn't go anywhere near Remus...

"That would be lovely. Thank you, Arabella," Dumbledore responded kindly. Once Arabella left the room, Dumbledore turned to Remus. The younger wizard turned away, knowing what was coming. "I should have known you would come here after receiving my letter, Remus," he said quietly. "You didn't have to come."

"I wanted to come, sir. I would prefer to be here rather than sitting at home not knowing," Remus said.

"You would have been kept informed." That was Dumbledore's way of nicely saying "you should have stayed out of it."

Remus sighed and looked behind him to the kitchen where Arabella was preparing tea. "Sir, no offense, but just having Arabella here won't be enough if Black decides to find Harry. He's proved before that he doesn't care about innocent Muggles or his best friends, and I think you need somebody else here for additional security."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with our discussion two years ago, would it, Remus?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

Remus winced. "No, sir, it wouldn't. I understood your reasoning behind that." _Even though I don't agree with it,_ he added in his mind. "Somebody who knows Black should be here."

Dumbledore studied Remus for a long moment before speaking again. "I believe you are correct, Remus," he said. Remus raised an eyebrow. It couldn't be that easy, could it? "As long as you are willing to stay relatively undercover, I see no reason you should not be permitted to stay on Privet Drive for the time being."

Remus nodded and gave the Headmaster a small smile. "Thank you, Professor," he said quietly. Inwardly, he couldn't remember being happier. Sure, his former best friend who just happened to be a mad mass murderer was on the loose, but he was closer to Harry than he'd been in years.

Arabella returned with a tray of tea and week old chocolate cake that neither wizard was so rude as to refuse. Dumbledore explained the Ministry's plan to recapture Black. Minister Fudge had set his best Aurors, including Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, to the case of tracking down the escapee.

"How did he escape, though?" Arabella asked. Remus choked slightly on his tea, receiving an odd look from the old woman. Dumbledore either hadn't noticed or was ignoring the reaction for the time being.

"We are not yet sure, Arabella," Dumbledore said. "We only know that Black was in his cell when he was brought his dinner, and the next morning he was not."

* * *

After a casserole cooked by Arabella, Dumbledore took his leave—he needed to speak with the Minister of Magic. Arabella led Remus up the stairs to his bedroom. She had insisted upon his first visit two nights previous that he stay with her rather than going to a motel in town that he couldn't afford. (Well, she hadn't put it that way, but Remus understood her meaning.)

Just down the street from Harry's relatives, a small house was opening for rent. Dumbledore offered to fund the home for a few months until Remus could find steady work in the area. He hadn't been able to hold a job for almost a year. That was one of the many downsides to being a werewolf.

Again, Arabella pointed out where the spare towels and blankets were should Remus need a shower or get cold through the night. He thanked her profusely for allowing him to stay another night and watched her close the door.

Remus then went to the large window and pulled aside the curtain to look out upon the neighborhood. It was quite peaceful, this neighborhood, a little too peaceful to be truthful. Of course, Remus' own home in the forests of Kent was much more secluded and quiet than this place. But the neighborhoods of Privet Drive and Wisteria Walk had a strange, uneasy peace about them. One would expect to hear a dog barking or children playing in the streets, but there was nothing.

Did these neighborhoods know of the secrets that had been forced upon them almost five years ago? Did they know that Number Four, Privet Drive housed the savior of the wizarding world? Did they know that a psychotic murderer could be on his way there at that very moment?


	3. Three

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Three_

Being a dog had its advantages.

For example, as a dog, one had the ability to see in the dark or sniff out predators who were tracking one down. As a dog, one didn't feel the same pain, physically or emotionally, that a human would fall victim to. As a dog, one could make better time with four legs rather than two. And most importantly, as a dog, one found foods a human would find disgusting rather delicious.

Just after midnight, two days following the full moon, a large black dog padded his way through the trees and shrubs of a black forest. He'd known these woods as a child—er, puppy—and knew exactly where he was going. He was sure that his destination would be one of the last places he would receive any sort of warm welcome, but he had to try. Hogwarts might have been a better option to which to travel, but no one had ever accused this dog of using common sense.

The trees began to thin and the path became wider. Normally from this distance, one would be able to see a light on in the old cottage, but the dog supposed the owner must be long asleep by now.

He exited the forest and laid eyes upon one of the few places besides Hogwarts that he'd ever felt at home in his youth. Nothing obvious had changed about the cottage—the paint was still the same color, although it had started to peel in a few places; the garden was still very well taken care of; and he still left the kitchen window open for owls. The dog had warned the cottage's owner on many occasions that he should close that bloody window before turning in for the night, but the world had also changed dramatically since the dog's last warning...

His friend's oversight with the kitchen window proved to be to the dog's benefit. Being so thin after almost five years of prison food, the dog was able to squeeze through the small gap between the window and its ledge. He fell face first onto the warped linoleum of the kitchen floor and yelped. Had he been able to use his human voice, the yelp would have come out as a loud curse.

The dog's grey eyes widened. He'd probably made enough noise to wake the neighbors thirty miles away already. The dog quickly took refuge under the kitchen table, waiting for the cottage's owner to run in the room with his wand drawn.

Nothing happened.

The dog raised an eyebrow as well as a dog could and cautiously crawled out from under the table. His eyes widened to adjust to the darkness in the cottage and perked his ears to hear any sounds around him. The only sounds he could hear were the gurgling of the pipes.

_Maybe he's still asleep...?_ the dog thought. It was true that the dog's friend could sleep through the end of the world—especially after the full moon—but the sounds the dog had made upon his entrance surely would have woken even him...

The dog, growing tired of his four legs by now, began to transform. Once the transformation was completed, a tall man with long black hair and a sunken face stood in the dog's place. He didn't have a wand, so he'd be defenseless if the owner of the cottage jumped out at him, but he'd take his chances.

Sirius Black, the only wizard to successfully escape the prison of Azkaban, crept cautiously through Remus Lupin's home. If the other wizard was there (maybe he wasn't home, after all...) Sirius would find him. He looked everywhere—Remus' bedroom, his study, the extra bedroom, the basement, even the bathroom which was still littered with bandages and empty bottles of healing creams from the last full moon—and found no sign of Remus.

He reentered the kitchen and turned on the light with a sigh, instantly regretting his decision for more light in the room. Once his eyes had readjusted, he looked around. Everything was as neat as it had always been. The only oddity Sirius could spot was a half-eaten plate of food in the sink and an open letter on the counter. However long Remus had been gone from his home, those two items had been sitting there.

Being curious (and perhaps a little nosy), Sirius picked up the parchment from the counter, immediately noticing the broken red wax Hogwarts seal on the back. He unfolded the letter and read:

_Dear Remus,_

_I do hope this letter finds you well after last night. I do not know if you have read the newspapers today, but the impossible has happened: Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban._

_This news may come as a shock to you—I was certainly upset by it myself—but I ask you to remain calm and do not jump to make any rash decisions. The Ministry has sent their best Aurors to search for Black, and hope to apprehend him soon. _

_The well-being of young Harry Potter will be the number one priority of myself and the Minister of Magic until we can capture Black again. I assure you that Harry will remain out of harm's way in the hands of his relatives. If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me by owl or Floo. _

_I'm sure we will be seeing one another soon._

_Sincerely,  
A.D._

Sirius dropped the parchment back to the counter in partial disgust. So they thought he would harm his godson, did they? Their mistrust was understandable, of course—he had been accused of killing twelve innocent Muggles in broad daylight, killing a best friend at the same time, and setting up two other best friends for their murders the night before. But how could anyone think him capable of hurting his godson? He'd never harmed a person out of malice in his life—unless you count Severus Snape, which Sirius rarely did. He'd almost killed a man once, and the man would have been more than deserving, but he'd underestimated little Peter Pettigrew. That had led to Sirius Black's downfall.

Sirius knew where he could find Harry, but thought it best if he didn't go to Little Whinging right away; Dumbledore probably had half the Ministry staking out Harry's home.

Sirius' stomach began to grumble, signaling it was time to eat something besides rats. He crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator, opened the door, and examined its bare contents. Obviously, Remus hadn't been grocery shopping recently. There were only a couple butterbeers and a few things to make a sandwich.

Pleased to be having anything that wasn't moldy or living less than five minutes before, Sirius retrieved the butterbeers and lunchmeat. He made his meal and sat at the table not wanting to think of the look on Remus' face if the werewolf walked into the kitchen at that moment. What would Sirius say to him? "Hey, Moony, have a butterbeer," probably wouldn't be the best idea. Remus was likely to curse Sirius so badly Azkaban wouldn't need to take him back.

He hadn't really planned what he would do once he was out of Azkaban—all he really wanted was to get away from the dementors with what remained of his sanity. He knew he'd be viewed as a dangerous criminal and the Ministry wouldn't rest until they'd captured him again. Sirius needed to find a way to prove his innocence. The only way that came to mind was to find the Wormtail. The rat was probably so far into hiding that Sirius would never find him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. Perhaps he could go to Dumbledore; Hogwarts' Headmaster was always an understanding man, but even Dumbledore probably wouldn't trust Sirius.

He wanted to see Harry. Lily and James' baby boy was probably around six years old and Sirius was curious to see how much he looked like his father. Sirius had loved Harry with all his heart; it was hard not to love him. He never understood Dumbledore's decision to send the boy to his aunt and uncle. Sirius had only met Lily's sister and brother-in-law a few times, but they definitely weren't the type of people Sirius would choose to leave an orphaned wizard boy with.

The (innocent) escaped convict finished his meal, not remembering when he'd tasted anything better, and wandered into the living room. Remus, it seemed, still kept all of the photos of his friends on the fireplace mantle. Sirius' face muscles began to hurt as he smiled at the memories of the pictures—it had been so long since he'd had reason to smile. Regardless of his current feelings towards Sirius, Remus still felt the need to have pictures of all the Marauders in his home. It was nice, seeing all of them smiling again (yes, even Wormtail—he hadn't always been a traitorous rat), knowing they had all once been happy (what happened to those days?). Sirius turned from the photos, wiping at his eyes roughly, and moved to the sofa. It would be nice to sleep on a soft surface again...

* * *

The bright morning sun crept through the window, hitting a large black dog in his face. Padfoot continued to sleep until there was a loud knock on the door. Vaguely, the dog-Animagus wondered when the dementors had put a wooden door on his cell, and when his bed had become so soft...

"Remus!" called a muffled female voice.

The dog's eyes snapped open. He immediately transformed back into his human counterpart and stood from the sofa.

"Remus Lupin, I know you're in there! Don't make me open this door with my wand!" the voice called again.

_I know that voice... How could I not? _Sirius thought. _But what is she doing here?_ He rolled his eyes. _She's obviously here to see Remus, you dolt._

"Remus, I'm coming in! I do hope, for your sake, that you're fully dressed!"

"Shit," Sirius muttered hoarsely, looking around for somewhere to hide. He ran to the hallway closet and threw himself inside, closing the door quietly behind him. He heard her enter and close the creaking front door. She crossed silently through the hallway—Sirius could smell her familiar perfume as she grew nearer to the kitchen.

He heard the clinking of empty butterbeer bottles and then silence. He could almost see her rolling her eyes as she threw the bottles in the trashcan.

"Remus, where are you?" she muttered to herself. He heard the rustle of parchment and knew she was reading the letter from Dumbledore. She sighed heavily after a moment and walked out of the kitchen, turning down the hallway leading to Remus' bedroom, right past Sirius' closet. He held his breath as she passed, not wanting her to see him like this, but at the same time, wanting nothing more than for her to find him.

The basement door opened and he heard her footsteps go down the wooden stairs. He leaned against the wall of the closet and let out his shaky breath. He only now realized how very dark this closet was. He started to feel an unnatural coldness fill his insides, and it was becoming really hard to breathe...

_They're not here,_ he tried to remind himself, closing his eyes tightly so he wouldn't see a rotting hand come at him from the darkness. It was no use. Instinctively, he transformed into Padfoot and felt instantly better.

She was coming back upstairs again. And again, he held his breath until she passed—at least, he tried. Before he could stop himself, he emitted a soft, longing whimper.

He could see her footstep's shadows stop just outside the door. She'd heard him... He was going back to Azkaban…

"Remus?" she questioned quietly to the door.

_No! No, leave! PLEASE!_ he thought desperately.

The doorknob began to turn, and the door started to open...


	4. Four

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Four_

Julia Sedler walked up the basement stairs of her only remaining friend's home with a sigh. She'd received the same letter from Dumbledore as Remus had just after the full moon about Black's escape, and Harry remaining safe in the hands of his relatives. She'd attempted to owl the werewolf over the last few days to check on his health, but after two days of returned letters, she decided it time to see for herself if he was still alive. She'd figured Remus would still be too weak after the full moon to run off to Surrey, but she'd obviously been wrong.

Remus had been there, she could tell; the butterbeer bottles and sandwich crumbs on the kitchen table told her that much. Maybe he was just out for a bit, she thought, hoping desperately that Remus wasn't going against Dumbledore's requests... Again.

She started to walk past the closet without another thought when she heard the unmistakable sound of an animal whimpering. She stopped in front of the door and raised an eyebrow. Had Remus gotten a dog since she'd last visited? And if so, why was it in the closet?

She reached out a hand to the doorknob and began to turn it, but before she could fully open the door, a _pop_ sounded in the kitchen. She jumped and snapped the door shut again, turning to find Remus looking at her questioningly but amused.

"Good morning, Julia," he said. "What are you doing?"

"I was looking for you," she replied, forgetting about the sound in the closet. "I've been owling you for two bloody days and I haven't heard a word. I thought you were dead."

Remus smiled at her concern. "Not yet," he said quietly. "You've heard the news, then?"

Julia nodded and looked away from him. "Yeah, I heard," she whispered.

He seemed to decide it best to change the subject away from her ex-fiancé. "I spoke with Dumbledore last night. I'm going to be staying on Privet Drive until this is over," he said.

"What?" Julia asked with a raised eyebrow. "How'd you manage to pull that off?"

Remus grinned. "After the full moon, I went to stay with Arabella Figg."

"You... Run that by me again..."

"She was quite pleased to see me, and asked when you were coming by for a visit," he said lightly.

Julia shook her head at her best friend. "You're mad, Lupin."

"Yes, I've been told that before. Anyway, I saw your godson," he said as if that were a normal occurrence.

"You saw Harry?" she asked with a smile forming on her face.

Remus nodded. "He's got James' hair, Lily's green eyes..." he trailed off, wondering if he should continue. "He's very shy, Julia. His clothes... it looked like he was wearing potato sacks..."

She sighed. "Did he recognize you?" she whispered.

"No, I don't think so," Remus replied regretfully. "It's been almost five years; I didn't really expect him to."

"Would have been nice, though, eh?"

Remus smiled. "Yes, it would have been."

"So what's this about moving to Privet Drive?"

"Well, I convinced Dumbledore that somebody should be there if—well, if Black shows up," he finished quietly, noticing her wince at the name.

"You didn't convince Dumbledore, Remus. He wouldn't have agreed to it if he hadn't already thought of that plan," she said, ignoring Remus' last comment... mostly.

"True. Either way, I just came back here to pick up a few things and lock up—"

"Did you plan on informing me that you were leaving?" she asked, slightly threateningly.

"Eventually," Remus replied easily, not at all affected by the witch's glare. "Actually, I was going to pop over to your place. I thought you'd want to go as well. We'd be closer to Harry..."

Julia didn't need any further convincing. "I'd like that, Lupin," she smiled. "But I get the bedroom. You can sleep on the floor in the kitchen."

Remus rolled his eyes. "There are two bedrooms," he said flatly.

Julia shrugged. "You can still sleep on the floor in the kitchen. When do we leave?"

* * *

Inside the hallway closet, Sirius was still trying to get his heart to stop racing. If Remus hadn't Apparated home when he had... And was Remus flirting with Julia? Sirius bit back a growl and hoped they'd leave soon; he didn't know how much longer he could stand this closet.

Both Julia and Remus would be in Little Whinging, right next to Harry. Sirius would never get to see his godson now. He really should have had a better plan formed before leaving Azkaban. It'd only been three days, and he'd already risked being caught.

_Julia sounds happy,_ he mused. She was laughing at something Remus said—it was music to Sirius' ears. He was tempted to burst from the closet, pull her into his arms, and apologize for every stupid thing he'd ever done in his life. Soon... he assured himself. He'd find a way to prove his innocence, and he could start his life over again.

Silence surrounded him after a while. Remus and Julia must have left. Sirius transformed and exited the closet. It looked like darkness had fallen around the cottage—how long had he been in that bloody closet? Cautiously, he walked through Remus' dark home, and left through the backdoor. He looked around the yard once more and transformed into Padfoot again, running back into the dark forest.

* * *

Remus pulled aside the curtains Julia had absolutely insisted on hanging over the living room windows of Number Nine, Privet Drive. He sat on the ledge of the window and stared down the street to the house he knew Harry to be. They were so close...

After Lily's and James' deaths, and Sirius' incarceration, Julia had gone to Dumbledore to inquire about where Harry would live. By that time, however, the fifteen-month-old had already been taken to the Dursleys.

Besides Sirius, the only person who had any legal rights to Harry's guardianship was Julia. She'd been completely overlooked when Dumbledore had made the decision on Harry's new residence, a fact she was still slightly bitter about. A few weeks after the Potters' funerals, Julia had gone back to Dumbledore, practically begging him to reconsider. He'd assured her that Harry was better off with the Dursleys; apparently, none of the Death Eaters who escaped Ministry capture could harm him while he was on Privet Drive.

This was when Remus had gone against Dumbledore's wishes. He'd gone to Privet Drive on his own and staked out the Dursleys' home. Regardless of what the Headmaster had said, Remus wanted to see Harry — he _needed _to see Harry. He'd even gone so far as to Disillusion himself so he could peek in through the sitting room window. For thirty minutes, he'd watched Harry sleep in a playpen that had been positioned just by his window. And then he'd left. Later that night, he'd received a letter from the Headmaster letting him know that the older wizard knew what he'd done that day, and would he please refrain from doing so in the future? It was for Harry's safety that he was on Privet Drive, and it would not do for another witch or wizard to see him wandering around there—word traveled quickly in the wizarding world, and if they were to find out where the Boy-Who-Lived was residing, Harry would never get a moment's peace. So Remus had gone back to his lonely life with Julia, wondering how the boy was.

Julia needed Remus. All she had left in the world was him, and vice versa. In a span of only a few days, the two of them had lost every person they held dear. Lily and James were betrayed by Sirius, Julia's soon-to-be-husband—they'd planned on a November wedding. Remus had lost his other best friend, Peter, at Sirius' wand. Not to mention Remus' long-time girlfriend, Naomi, informing him just after the funerals that she'd become a Death Eater. Naomi had disappeared after that night, and neither Remus nor Julia had heard from her since—not that they really wanted to. Remus and Julia had found comfort in each other's friendship over the years. Through Hogwarts, and even after, they hadn't been as close as they were now.

She'd tried to convince him a few times that Sirius never would have betrayed Lily and James, that there had to be other factors involved. Remus argued, quite logically he thought, that there could be no other explanation; Sirius was their Secret-Keeper; no one else could have told Voldemort where the Potters could be found.

Every so often, usually after a few games of Sickles (the wizard version of the American Muggle drinking game, Quarters) there'd be another argument where Remus could actually find himself believing what Julia was saying. But then sense, and a Sobering Charm, would kick in and any hope Remus had for getting his best friend back flew out the window like an express owl.

"Sickle for your thoughts, Lupin?" Julia said quietly, sitting beside him.

Remus shrugged, not answering for a few moments. "Just reliving the worst days of our lives," he said flatly.

"I've been having those same thoughts," she said, following Remus' line of sight down the street. "Do you think he'll actually come here?"

"He might." Remus sighed. "It's highly possible. According to Hagrid and Dumbledore, Sirius knows where Harry was going that night." Julia nodded, a far away look in her eyes. Remus knew that look. "You still think he's innocent," he stated. She didn't reply. He sighed again. "Julia—"

"Don't," she said quietly but firmly. "Don't do this, Remus. I know what you think, and you know what I think. Just... don't," she finished weakly.

He scooted over on the window ledge and awkwardly put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. She sniffed and laid her head on his shoulder. "I want to believe he's innocent, Julia, really I do," he whispered into her hair. "There's nothing in the world that would make me happier. But there's just so much against him..."

She nodded into his chest. "I know," she muttered, her voice muffled. "But he loved them, Remus. He loved _us_. I just can't see him ever doing anything to hurt any of us. Not intentionally, at least—he was kind of a moron at times." Remus chuckled quietly. Julia pulled away from him. "Think about it, Remus. He left his family because of their ties with Voldemort. He hated everything that remotely represented the Dark Side. Why would he join them?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "But if not Sirius, then who?" Julia didn't have an answer. She stared straight ahead into the dark living room, thinking hard.

Not long after, the two friends said good night and went to their separate bedrooms. Little did they know, just outside the window they'd been sitting beside, a large black dog stood in the rose bushes, listening to what he could hear of their muffled conversation, watching their every move.


	5. Five

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Five_

"Boy!" Vernon Dursley yelled through the kitchen of Number Four, Privet Drive. "Where's my coffee?"

Little Harry Potter started and turned to his uncle. "I'll get it, Uncle Vernon," he said meekly. He pushed up the sleeves of the too-big shirt that had once belonged to Dudley. Carefully, Harry poured his uncle's coffee, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, trying not to spill it again. Last week, he'd sustained a rather bad burn on his arm after spilling the scalding hot liquid. It had been Dudley's fault, really. The other boy had pushed Harry on his way to the fridge for a chocolate bar.

Harry picked up the hot mug from the counter with both hands, tears immediately filling his eyes at the temperature of the ceramic. He didn't dare complain, though. Stepping off the footstool he used to reach the coffee pot, he took the cup to his uncle.

Dudley waddled in, immediately being smothered by his mother as she said good morning. If Harry was forced to watch the exchange again, he was likely to be sick. Luckily, he hadn't eaten yet. He sat at the end of the table just as Aunt Petunia dropped a plate of burnt bacon and toast with runny eggs in front of him.

"Eat quickly," she snapped at the five-year-old. "We've got chores for you to do."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said quietly, picking up his fork. As he ate, he tried to ignore his uncle's rants about how the government was handling some escaped prisoner.

"Where's the syrup?" Dudley whined loudly, interrupting his father's complaints.

"Here it is, Dudders," Aunt Petunia said fondly, smoothing the blond hair on Dudley's fat head.

Harry nearly lost his appetite watching Dudley smother his eggs and bacon with a disgusting amount of syrup. But if Aunt Petunia really had a lot of chores for him to do—he was sure she did—he'd need to keep up his strength. That was on one of the first lessons Harry learned with the Dursleys: always eat before going into the sun for the day.

Pretending it was something that actually tasted good—school food wasn't even this bad—Harry shoved the charcoal tasting toast and bacon into his mouth. If he'd wasted anymore time with his breakfast, he would have been out of luck until lunch. Dudley had started one of his world famous tantrums when Aunt Petunia turned his favorite cartoon over in favor of some gossip program on the television. Harry had to add _clean Dudley's mess_ 'to his list of chores for the day after Dudley knocked all of the food and Uncle Vernon's coffee to the floor.

Uncle Vernon chuckled gruffly, muttering something about Dudley being a "little tyke," kissed Aunt Petunia's bony cheek, glared at Harry, and left for his day at work. Once he was out of the house, Dudley grabbed his after breakfast snack—a rather large piece of chocolate cake—and set himself in front of the living room television for the day. Aunt Petunia set Harry to his chores while she sat out in the backyard, reading her magazines and spied on the neighbors. Apparently, a young couple had moved in just down the street, and Aunt Petunia wanted to know all about them before she went to welcome them to the neighborhood.

Harry went to the shed in the backyard and retrieved the lawnmower. It always took him a good two hours to mow the lawn, and he hoped to finish before it became too hot—Harry had suffered from sun poisoning last summer. Two days later, he was back out in the summer heat, weeding the garden. He'd become so sick that day his aunt and uncle were forced to take him to the hospital. He'd been punished with a week in his cupboard for that...

Two and a half hours later, tired and sweaty, Harry pushed the lawnmower back to the shed. After making his and Dudley's lunches, Harry was allowed to go to the park and play for a few hours. He finished his dried carrot sticks and half ham sandwich, and left the house before his aunt could change his mind about the chore reprieve.

He passed Number Nine and averted his eyes as a young woman began to openly watch him. For a moment, Harry thought she was going to follow him, but a man (Mrs. Figg's friend, Norris, Harry realized) came to the front porch and held her back.

* * *

Padfoot had taken cover in the trees surrounding a small playground on Privet Drive. The sounds of laughing children playing had woken him early, and he'd gone in search of breakfast. He'd found some rather interesting berries in some of the shrubs deep in the woods to eat. Almost immediately, he regretted it when he was sick over another bunch of shrubs.

It reminded him of one time when the Marauders were still in school. Prongs and Padfoot were exploring the Forbidden Forest on a full moon, and were hungry. Wormtail was the one to find the blueberries. Moony flat out refused to eat them, and in his own werewolf way, advised the others not to eat them either. Much to Moony's amusement, the other Marauders spent two weeks under the care of Madam Pomfrey when they'd ignored him. The berries had been poisonous, and had symptoms that caused the three boys to require beds close to the bathroom for their entire stay.

Padfoot made a sound that resembled a chuckled at the memory.

"Go away!" yelled a voice at the park.

Padfoot moved to the edge of the woods to see what was going on. A group of boys that couldn't have been more than six or seven, stood together in a tight circle. The black dog sniffed the air and his jaw dropped. Anger and fear mixed with another scent, a familiar scent, were in the air.

_Harry..._

Sure enough, in the center of the circle was a small boy with black hair and round-rimmed glasses, held together with tape. The other boys had pushed him to the ground, teasing him, calling him a freak. Padfoot bared his fangs in a loud growl. Nobody messed with a Potter if he had anything to do with it...

The grim-like creature bounded from the shrubs, his teeth still bared, barking loudly. He broke through the circle, knocking a few of the boys to the ground. He stood between Harry and the biggest boy of the lot. Padfoot would have mistaken him for a pig if he hadn't had blond hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

"Run for it!" one of the boys shouted. The boys started to flee down the street. Padfoot chased them for a bit until they'd gone around a corner, then went back to Harry.

The skinny boy still sat on the ground where Padfoot left him, wiping his bloody, scraped arm with his shirt sleeve. When he saw the dog approach again, his emerald green eyes widened in fear, and he tried to scoot backwards, far away from the dog.

Padfoot stopped in his tracks, realizing he'd frightened his godson. Using his best imitation of an innocent, harmless dog, he crawled on his belly the remaining distance to Harry. The boy still seemed wary of him, so the dog thumped his tail on the ground reassuringly and whimpered. Tentatively, Harry reached out a hand to the dog. He withdrew it quickly when Padfoot made to lick him.

After a few moments, Harry seemed to have decided the dog wouldn't hurt him and started to scratch the Padfoot's ears. The dog was rewarded when Harry actually smiled. It wasn't a large smile, though; it was actually shy, as if Harry didn't really know how to smile and be happy.

Padfoot repressed the urge to growl—Harry had only started to trust him... _When those idiots at the Ministry realize I'm innocent, Harry, I'll make sure you know what it's like to be happy again_, he thought.

Sometime later, Harry quietly stated that he had to go home; his aunt and uncle didn't like him to be late. It was the first time Padfoot had ever heard his godson's voice without the baby babble he used to speak with. It nearly broke his heart to think he might not get to see Harry for a long time. As his godson walked away from the park towards Number Four, Padfoot whimpered quietly to himself, longing to transform back to his human self, call Harry back, and hold him until his Hogwarts letter came in five years.

* * *

Julia and Remus sat at the small wooden table brought from Julia's flat in London eating a large dinner. The Muggleborn witch had been strangely silent since she'd seen Harry walking down the street earlier in the day.

"Never knew you could cook like this, Sedler," Remus joked quietly, trying to get his friend to smile. He succeeded a bit; her lips twitched, at least.

"Shut up, Lupin," she muttered, throwing a bread roll across the table, striking him in the forehead.

Remus laughed, and made to throw the roll back at Julia, but the doorbell rang at that moment. The two friends raised eyebrows at one another.

"Maybe it's Dumbledore?" Julia suggested.

Remus shook his head. "No, he's not coming until tomorrow," he said, looking down the hall. He exchanged a look with Julia, picked up his wand, and started for the door. Julia followed anxiously.

He looked through the little hole in the door and saw a tall blonde woman with horse-like face waiting impatiently for someone to answer the door.

"Who is it?" Julia whispered.

"Petunia Dursley." Remus turned and grinned.

Julia cursed quietly. "She knows me, Remus! I used to stay with Lily on summer holidays. Petunia never liked me for some reason."

Remus didn't miss the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Go upstairs, then. I'll take care of dear Petunia."

"Don't hurt her too badly, Moony." She grinned.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Remus replied, putting his wand in his back belt loop and covering it with his t-shirt.

Once Julia disappeared up the stairs—Remus was sure she would be listening closely to the conversation—he got his grin under control and opened the door. "Oh, hello," he said politely to the woman who obviously didn't recognize him.

"Hello, I'm Petunia Dursley, I live over in Number Four," Petunia said, pointing down the street. Remus pretended to just now realize the house was there. "My husband and I couldn't help but notice you moving in yesterday, and I've come to welcome you to the neighborhood," she said with an obviously fake smile.

"That's very nice of you, Mrs. Dursley. Might I inquire as to where Mr. Dursley is?"

"Oh, he's at home taking care of our son, Dudley," Petunia said. She was trying to look over Remus' shoulder into the house, but the wizard was too tall. He noticed immediately Petunia made no mention Harry... "We thought we saw a woman with you. Are you married, Mr..."

"Prewitt," Remus lied smoothly—he'd had a lot of practice with the Order of the Phoenix. "Norris Prewitt. And yes, I am married. My wife is just upstairs, unpacking a few things."

"How lovely. Well, she must join me for tea one afternoon and meet my Dudley. Do you and your wife have children, Mr. Prewitt?"

"No, I'm afraid not. My wife has been quite busy with her career. She works in foreign relations for the government," he said.

"And what do you do?" Petunia inquired.

_Well, if she really wants to be nosy, might as well have fun with it..._ Remus thought wickedly, reverting almost automatically to his Marauder days. "I'm a caseworker for child welfare. Basically, I prosecute neglectful parents and guardians for their treatment of the children they'd been entrusted to care for."

Petunia's fake smile faltered. "Oh, that's nice," she said.

"Yes, it is. It's quite satisfying to see those who abuse helpless children—my specialty is with orphans—pay for their actions." Remus was darkly pleased to see her grow nervous.

"Well, it was wonderful meeting you, Mr. Prewitt, but I must return home. Oh, I almost forgot. I baked you some biscuits as a welcoming gift. I do hope you and your wife enjoy. And please, let us know if you need absolutely anything," Petunia said, handing Remus the plate of biscuits.

"Thank you, Mrs. Dursley. My wife will love these; she's got an incredible sweet tooth." He could almost see Julia rolling her eyes at his loud, fake laugh. "Good night, Mrs. Dursley."

"Good night, Mr. Prewitt."

She tried to sneak in one last look into the house before Remus closed the door on her. He turned towards the stairs and found Julia leaning against the wall, her arms crossed, glaring at him. He rolled his eyes at her threatening stare and walked to the kitchen.

"Would you like a cookie, darling?" he asked in a posh tone, holding the plate out for her as she entered.

"You're such a git," she said, her lips twitching.

"Why thank you, it is my best quality," he said with a bow of his head.

Julia chuckled and took one of the offered biscuits. "Not bad," she said thoughtfully after taking a bite. "Nice cover stories, by the way. You think she believed you?"

"Absolutely. You should have seen her face when I started talking about orphaned children," Remus said, biting into one of the biscuits. "And I didn't completely lie, either. The Department of Muggle/Wizard relations could count as foreign relations. And I do take satisfaction in seeing people suffer for their treatment of children."

"What about the names, _Norris?_" Julia grinned.

Remus shrugged. "That's what Arabella called me when I met Harry."

"And our," Julia cleared her throat, "_relationship_..."

Remus grinned. "Oh, come now, Julia. You know you've always fantasized about being married to a werewolf."

The rest of the biscuits became ammo for Julia as she threw them at her friend.


	6. Six

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Six_

Remus sat in the living room of his temporary home reading that day's edition of the _Daily Prophet_. It had been a week since Sirius had escaped from Azkaban and the Ministry still had no leads on his location. Dumbledore assured him and Julia that Sirius would not be able to cross the wards of Privet Drive—they were set to recognize the Dark Mark, and anybody with intent to hurt the nearly six-year-old. Dumbledore meant for this information to put Remus and Julia at ease, but the Headmaster didn't know what Remus knew.

The fact that Sirius Black was an Animagus had been haunting Remus since the wizard's escape from Azkaban. He'd been so close to telling Dumbledore everything a few nights before when he'd visited, but he'd lost his nerve. Julia seemed to be fighting the same internal battle. Remus knew she'd never tell, though; she was still too in love with Sirius for her own good. Remus wished she would move on, but she still had a loyalty to Sirius that frustrated the werewolf to no end.

Bored with his newspaper, Remus stood and crossed to the window. He could very clearly see Number Four from his position, and he raised an eyebrow as he spotted the familiar form of a small boy with black, untidy hair digging in the garden. Vernon and Petunia were nowhere to be seen, but Dudley was sitting on a bicycle that looked ready to collapse under his weight. This was starting to become a pattern at Number Four: Harry seemed to be outside all day, everyday working, while his cousin remained a drain on society. The other day, Julia said she'd seen him cleaning Vernon's new company car while Dudley sat on the porch eating a disgusting amount of ice cream.

_I wonder what else happens to Harry that we _don't_ see,_ Remus thought angrily.

There were moments that he'd been tempted to go over to Number Four, just take Harry, and curse the Dursleys; Julia had been all for the idea, but they both knew Dumbledore would frown upon that.

_Who gives a damn? Dumbledore doesn't know what's good for a six-year-old orphan..._

_He knew what was good for you before you started Hogwarts,_ said a voice in the back of his head.

_That was different._

_Not really..._

Further argument with the voices in his head was impossible as a soft _pop_ sounded just behind him. He turned around just in time to see Julia collapse on the sofa.

"Long day?" Remus asked casually, sitting in an armchair next to her. She grunted in response and turned to bury her head in a pillow. "Harry's outside working again," he said quietly.

Slowly, Julia turned to face him, frowning. "We need to do something, Remus. If this keeps up—it's probably been going on for years already—he'll end up in hospital... or worse."

"I know, but you heard Dumbledore the other night 'Don't act unless the circumstances grow desperate'," Remus said.

"You know, I do love the man, but I'm starting to wonder about his sanity," she said lightly.

Remus smirked and snorted. "You've known him since you were eleven, and you're only now starting to wonder about his sanity?"

Julia shrugged. Apparently she wasn't in the mood for another 'Dumbledore's Insane' conversation. "I'm hungry. What do you say to ordering in tonight? I can't be bothered to cook," she muttered, turning back to her pillow.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then. I'll order dinner, and you try and suffocate yourself."

Julia grunted in response again and fell asleep moments later.

* * *

Living on the run from the Ministry of Magic was quickly starting to lose its appeal. At first, it was like a new adventure, but now he didn't see the fun. Sirius had spent the last four days in the woods next to the playground on Privet Drive, scavenging for food, and he hadn't seen his godson since the day he was being pushed around by those other kids. He wanted to go to Number Four and if nothing else, just _see_ Harry.

The problem with that plan was that Remus was always taking long walks around the neighborhood. If the werewolf caught onto any sign of him before he could explain the truth... Well, Remus wouldn't be too thrilled to see him. He'd thought about going to Julia—she'd believe him, he'd convinced himself—but he wasn't ready to see her just yet.

He looked up to the sky as he heard the distant sounds of thunder. _Figures... And nothing's worse than a wet dog,_ he thought dully. Then he smirked mentally. _Well, wet werewolf isn't a very pleasant scent..._

Just as that thought passed through his mind, a drop of rain hit his black nose. Seconds later, he was in danger of being flooded out of the woods. He took cover under a large tree with low hanging branches, and hoped the storm would pass soon.

* * *

The rain hit Harry's back at the same time it hit Sirius. He was still in the front yard doing the weeding for his Aunt Petunia. The cool rain felt good on his sun burned skin—Aunt Petunia used some sort of aloe cream on Dudley's sunburns, but obviously felt Harry wasn't deserving of it.

He felt eyes on him and turned to look down the street. The rain was starting to fall harder, but the small boy could make out the shape of a tall man watching him. A delivery car was pulling out of his driveway.

"Boy! What are you staring at?" Uncle Vernon had opened the door to yell at him. Harry had hoped his uncle would let him go inside.

"Nothing, Uncle Vernon," Harry said quickly, hoping he wouldn't be punished.

Uncle Vernon glared suspiciously. "Get inside and get cleaned up. You're to go to Mrs. Figg's tonight; your aunt, cousin, and I are going out."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said, taking off the gloves he used to work in the garden. They didn't work too well to protect his hands, though; they'd been used so much that the fabric had started to wear out. Harry usually always had calluses and cuts on his hands when he finished in the garden.

On his way in the door, Aunt Petunia threw a towel at him, telling him to dry off before walking across her clean floor. He took the towel with him to his cupboard and sat on the small cot his aunt and uncle called a bed. He changed into some old clothes that had, naturally, once belonged to Dudley. _At least they're dry,_ Harry thought miserably.

Once he was changed, and semi-dry, he left his cupboard and Aunt Petunia gave him the usual threats about what would happen if they found he'd been "acting up" at Mrs. Figg's home. Harry hoped Mrs. Figg would just let him sleep that night instead of forcing him to look at pictures of her stupid cats—the day in the sun had exhausted him.

On their way out of the neighborhood, Uncle Vernon agreed—reluctantly—to drop Harry off to Mrs. Figg. "What if that Prewitt man sees him walking down the street in this storm?" Aunt Petunia had asked him.

Shivering (was he coming down with a cold?), Harry followed his "family" outside to Uncle Vernon's car. The man glared at his nephew when he spotted a smudge on the hood—the boy was supposed to have cleaned it the day before.

The small boy pulled himself into the car, ignoring Dudley's stuffing popcorn in his fat mouth. The other boy reached over unexpectedly and punched Harry hard in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.

"What's all the noise about back there?" Aunt Petunia snapped while Harry rubbed his shoulder.

"Harry tried to steal my popcorn," Dudley whined loudly.

Harry started to protest, but the glare Uncle Vernon shot to the backseat silenced him immediately. He saw Dudley smirk at him as Uncle Vernon turned back around in his seat. Harry glared at him and turned to look out the window. The skies were turning blacker as the storm raged on.

A minute later, Uncle Vernon pulled into the driveway of Mrs. Figg's home. The batty old woman was waiting for Harry on her front porch with an umbrella in hand. She ran to the car and held the umbrella over the door while Harry got out. Together, they walked back to the porch. Mrs. Figg turned back to wave goodbye to the Dursleys, but they'd already started to leave. Harry missed Mrs. Figg's glare to the car.

"Come in, Harry, wouldn't want you to get sick out in this weather," she said, opening the door for him.

Harry entered and the smell of cabbage filled his nostrils immediately making him waver slightly. Mrs. Figg shook out the umbrella and sat it next to the coat hanger. She told him to sit at the sofa while she made them some dinner. On the television was some game show from America with a big wheel and a board with letters. Though he hadn't meant to, Harry fell asleep where he sat.

* * *

Just after dinner, Remus and Julia sat in the living room watching television when the telephone rang. Remus got up to answer it, as it seemed Julia was incapable of doing so—she'd fallen asleep on the sofa again.

It was Arabella Figg. Apparently, Harry was at her house for the evening while the Dursleys went out. She told Remus that Harry was horribly sunburned and she treated it as well she could without a wand—Arabella Figg was a squib. He seemed to be running a horrible fever, but was shivering something terrible. She wondered if she should take him to the hospital, or just keep him at her house for the night. Remus peeked into the living room to make sure Julia was really asleep—she was—and told Arabella he would be over shortly.


	7. Seven

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Seven_

Remus Apparated onto Arabella Figg's back porch just after he received her near-panicked phone call telling him that Harry was sick. Without a word, she led him to the living room to where Harry laid sound asleep somewhere in the middle of four heavy blankets.

"He's been like that since he got here," Arabella whispered worriedly. "I used the blankets to try and keep him warm, but..." she trailed off, gesturing hopelessly to the shivering boy.

The wizard knelt beside the sofa and felt the child's forehead. He was burning up. Every inch of visible skin was a dark red and in some places, a deep purple. Remus lifted Harry's shirt and found the boy's chest to be chalk-white. He was horrified to see to see a few of Harry's ribs. "What have they done to him?" he muttered weakly.

"Can you do anything, Remus?" Arabella asked softly.

Remus rubbed his eyes with both hands. "No," he said regretfully. "He's got sun poisoning, and he seems to have a bad cold on top of it. It I was to use magic on him now, there's a chance he could fall into a coma—he's still very young, and I don't think his body could handle it. Madam Pomfrey might know what to do..."

"I've already tried Hogwarts, but the entire castle was empty. I've even sent one of those portraits out to check—Dumbledore's not even around," Arabella said.

Remus frowned. Dumbledore always seemed to be at Hogwarts... "Then all we can do for the time being is keep him as comfortable as possible. St. Mungo's is out of the question—Harry's not supposed to set foot anywhere in the wizarding world, and I wouldn't trust a Muggle hospital to take care of him right now. Can we put him in your spare bedroom?"

Arabella was already halfway up the stairs. Remus stood and very gently, took Harry, blankets and all, into his arms. He winced as he realized how light Harry was for a boy his age. His cousin's clothing gave the appearance that Harry weighed more than he actually did. Harry actually felt as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

Remus carried Harry up the stairs, careful not to jostle the child from his sleep, and into the bedroom he'd stayed in the week before. Arabella had already pulled back the blankets so that Remus could place Harry into the large, warm bed. Remus tucked the blankets around Harry, and pushed the black hair away from the child's eyes. For a moment, Remus' own eyes lingered on the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead—it was bright white at the moment.

_Lord Voldemort, the most feared Dark Lord in a century, couldn't kill this little boy, but it's very possible that the people in charge of his well-being will_, Remus thought. If this wasn't considered desperate circumstances, he couldn't think of what that could possibly mean...

* * *

Julia woke to the sounds of thunder and heavy rain outside. She turned to look at the clock above the fireplace. It informed her that it was half past midnight. There was no sign of her temporary roommate in the room. The television was still on, now showing an old black-and-white horror movie about vampires.

_They're not _that_ bloody pale... And they don't wear those high-collared cloaks... Come to think of it, Severus Snape is the probably the best example for what a vampire really looks like._ She smirked mentally.

Being Muggleborn witch, Julia found she'd had a lot to learn when she entered Hogwarts. Luckily for her, she'd made a quick friend in another Muggleborn Gryffindor girl, Lily Evans. When the two girls met Naomi Watts, a pureblood, they'd learned all about the wizarding world in a few short years. When Julia began dating Sirius in seventh year, she'd learned the hard way how many purebloods feel about Muggleborns.

Sirius' cousin, Bellatrix, didn't go a day without glaring at the couple and shooting snide remarks at Julia when Sirius' back was turned. His brother, Regulus, had learned of Sirius' new relationship and written home to their mother. When Sirius and Julia stepped off the school train after their Hogwarts graduation, hand-in-hand, Mrs. Black approached her eldest son, slapped him hard across the face, and called him several names Julia hadn't ever heard—even with her dating Sirius Black, she'd never been exposed to that sort of language.

Julia had been more upset over the altercation than Sirius when they'd gone back to his flat. She'd even offered to put a break in their relationship so Sirius wouldn't be hated by his family. Sirius had been horrified at the mere suggestion. He pulled Julia into his arms and gave her the most passionate kiss she'd ever experienced before he told her he didn't give a shit about what his family thought; all that mattered to him was her and their friends. That night, they'd vowed to get married one day. ("That'll really piss off Mother Dearest," Sirius had said with his trademark grin.)

A few years later, just before Harry had been born, Sirius had proposed to her. She had actually been quite surprised; the war had been growing steadily worse, and both Sirius and Julia were so laden down with their work (Sirius as an Auror; Julia in Wizard/Muggle Relations) that they hadn't seen each other in a week before that night.

The best night of her life had quickly turned to tragedy when, the next morning, she'd gone home to find her parents had both been murdered by Death Eaters. Months later, it was discovered that Voldemort had actually killed her family; he'd been after Julia. Sirius immediately enlisted the help of his friends and moved her into his flat in London—something he'd been threatening to do for a year anyway. She still lived there, even after his arrest, but spent many lonely nights on the sofa with a teddy bear he'd given her on their first date.

Wiping tears from her cheeks, Julia stood from the sofa of Number Nine and made her way to the kitchen. Just as she entered, lightning struck somewhere near, and the electricity flickered and went out. She groaned, realizing she'd left her wand upstairs beside her bed.

She went to the window and leaned on the ledge, staring at the black sky. The storm was beginning to remind her of another storm; one back in 1981—Halloween 1981, to be exact...

Shaking those thoughts from her head (she'd had enough depressing thoughts for the week), she looked straight out the window to the woods behind the house. Another bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the forest. The light lasted no longer than a few seconds, but in that time, Julia's heart began to race. There, just in front of her in the trees, was an enormous black dog, staring straight at her. But when lightning struck again, the shape had disappeared.

Her jaw dropped, and she went out to the back porch—she knew she'd seen him! Not caring that the rain was now soaking through her skin, she walked to the middle of the backyard, looking hard into the trees. He'd been there… But how? Dumbledore said no one with the Dark Mark could enter Privet Drive...

The weight on her heart began to lessen as she realized what this could possibly mean... Sirius didn't have the Dark Mark... But then she remembered Remus words their first night on Privet Drive, "_If not Sirius, then who?"_

"What are you doing?" called an incredulous voice from the back porch.

Julia spun around to find Remus standing there, wand in hand, as if he expected to have to fight something. "Hey. I—" But she couldn't tell Remus what she'd just seen; he'd either think she was mad or go out and search for Sirius himself. "I'm just enjoying the storm," she called, hoping the rain was hiding her lie.

Remus raised an eyebrow and beckoned for her to get in the house before she got sick, too. Julia didn't ask who was sick as she entered the house and had a drying charm performed on her.

"Thanks," she said, sitting at the kitchen table. "So where've you been? You don't look wet..."

"Er, no, I'm not. I was at Arabella's. She was, er, telling me about her cats," Remus stammered.

Obviously, Julia wasn't the only one keeping secrets tonight... "Remus Lupin." She grinned. "Have you finally found a girlfriend?"

"What?" Remus said, a blush creeping to his cheeks. "No, Julia. I really was at Arabella's."

"Uh huh." Julia continued to grin—she was starting to remind him of Sirius, and he didn't like it one bit. Her teasing mood began to fade as she noticed the look on her friend's face. "Remus, what's wrong?"

Remus hesitated. "It's... nothing," he said lamely. "Look, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sure," Julia said slowly as he left the kitchen without a backwards glance.

* * *

Next morning, Arabella Figg personally saw to it that Harry made it safely back to Number Four. She'd told Petunia Dursley that the child was quite ill, and needed attention. Petunia assured her that Harry would be quite taken care of, and she needn't worry. Arabella went back to her home worrying worse than she had the night before...

* * *

Two days later, Harry's fever still hadn't broken, nor had his horrible sunburn. But regardless of these circumstances, his Aunt Petunia sent the boy out of the house while she prepared the home for a dinner party that night. Harry left the house and slowly made his way to the playground down the street.

As he stumbled across the grass, he vaguely realized a little too late that Dudley and his gang were in the park. Luckily for Harry, they were too occupied with throwing rocks at passing cars to notice the small boy. Harry sat at the trunk of a large, shady tree.

He was still very cold—his teeth were chattering—but he couldn't wrap his arms around himself for warmth due to the extent of his sunburn. Harry sneezed violently and felt his world darken. He didn't even feel something drag him through the bushes half an hour later...

* * *

As night fell over Privet Drive, Petunia continued to straighten cushions on the sofa. Vernon was having his boss over for dinner that night, and would hopefully be promoted to Vice President of Grunnings Drill Company. That is, if the boy didn't screw it up for them...

"Mum! I'm home!" Dudley called as he entered the house noisily.

"Hello, darling," Petunia called back to her son. "Mummy will be up in a moment to get you ready for Daddy's party tonight," she added as her six-year-old thundered up the stairs.

_My precious Dudders,_ Petunia thought fondly to herself, going through the hall to the kitchen. She passed her nephew's cupboard and wondered vaguely where the troublesome boy was—he knew to be back when Dudley came home! The thought was driven out of her mind seconds later when she picked up the suit Dudley would wear that night.

* * *

Sirius transformed back into his human self for the first time in over a week after he'd pulled Harry into the woods. The small boy had been unconscious when the wizard found him, and he looked worse than Sirius did... If that was possible...

"Oh god, Harry," he muttered, trying to get his godson into a more comfortable position. It was pointless, really, what he was doing; all Sirius had were leaves and sticks he'd used to make a bed.

Harry was shivering horribly, even though it had to be at least a hundred degrees that day. Sirius quickly took off the old, tattered Azkaban robes he'd been wearing for five years, and attempted to wrap them around Harry. The child cried out in pain, still very much unconscious, and Sirius apologized quietly, continuing his action with more care.

Night had fallen completely and Sirius hadn't left Harry's side once. He wondered angrily a few times every hour why Vernon and Petunia hadn't come to look for him—they were supposed to be his bloody guardians! Harry was still shivering violently, and his breathing was becoming raspy and more desperate.

Lacking any other options at the moment, Sirius transformed back into Padfoot and curled up next to the boy in a last ditch effort to give him the warmth he so desperately needed.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," he wanted to say. "What have they done to you? What have _I _done to you? Oh god, this is all my fault... If I hadn't suggested Wormtail as the Secret-Keeper, this never would have happened..."

A few more hours passed with Sirius trying to think of ways to torture a rat and a few Muggles. Harry hadn't gotten any better, and the night was growing colder.

_If only I had somewhere to take him...If he stays out here all night, he'll be dead by morning..._

He suddenly thought of the night before during the storm and seeing Julia in the kitchen window... Slapping himself mentally, Sirius transformed again and gently took his godson in his arms. Harry's head fell against his bare shoulder as the wizard quickly retraced his steps to Number Nine.

_I just hope they're not awake_, he thought desperately.

He made his way out of the trees and into the backyard of Remus and Julia's temporary home. Vaguely, he thought of what he'd do if they were sharing a bed... They'd seemed pretty cozy the night he'd heard them talking...

_It doesn't matter... She's not yours anymore,_ he thought bitterly. _Besides, there are more important things to worry about._

He stepped onto the back porch and tested the door—it was unlocked. Shaking his head at the sheer stupidity of his friends—if he could get in, then anyone else could—Sirius entered the dark kitchen. It seemed both of them had turned in for the night.

_No wonder—it's nearly three in the sodding morning,_ he thought, looking at the clock above the kitchen sink.

Once again shaking his head at the Dursleys' lack of caring, he went through the hallway and up the staircase, hoping he could find her bedroom. It couldn't be that hard; this wasn't a very big house... The first door he came to was closed, and there was loud snoring from behind it.

_Definitely not Julia,_ he thought with a smirk.

A few doors down, there was a door slightly open. He nudged it open with his foot and entered silently. There she was, sleeping soundly. She'd always reminded him of an angel when she slept...

Sighing longingly, Sirius moved to the other side of her bed and pulled back the blankets with one hand, hoping she didn't wake now. Carefully, he placed Harry in the bed, tucking the blankets around him. He kissed the child lightly on the forehead, and moved to Julia's side of the bed. He kissed her on the lips and whispered an I love you. He knew he was being reckless, but he didn't care; when was the next time he'd be able to tell her that?

He'd done all he could do. Everything was now up to Remus and Julia.

_They'll take good care of him,_ Sirius thought sadly, wanting nothing more than to take care of Harry himself.

He left the room just as silently as he entered and started to congratulate himself on not being caught. His celebration, unfortunately, was premature. As he reached the top of the stairs, he felt the tip of a wand jab into the small of his back, and heard a low voice growl, "Don't move."


	8. Eight

_**Broken **_

By Neurotica

_Eight_

Julia woke suddenly, as though someone had shouted in her ear. It took her a moment to calm herself enough to fall back to sleep. And that's when she felt it. Her bed was shaking slightly—perhaps it was her, but somehow she didn't think so. With wide eyes, she turned around in her bed, hoping to Merlin that Remus was playing some sort of prank on her—if he was, she'd kill him, but at least she'd know what was going on.

As her eyes rested on the small shape covered by blankets in her bed, her first thought was that this was Remus' worst prank ever. Cautiously, she pulled the blankets way from where she thought the shape's head would be. Then she jumped so far back that she fell off the bed with a strangled yell. She fumbled on the nightstand for her wand, but only succeeded in knocking the bedside lamp to the floor with a crash.

Her wand finally located, she muttered weakly, "_Lumos." _The tip of her wand began to glow and she pulled herself from the floor to peek over the edge of the bed. Just as her mind vaguely registered that the shape in the bed was her godson, her bedroom door burst open, causing her to fall off the bed again.

Even in the pale light of her wand, Remus looked angrier than Julia had ever wanted to see him. He switched on the bedroom light and paled in an instant. He dropped his wand by the door and rushed to Harry's side—Julia crawled on the bed beside them.

"What's wrong with him?" she practically begged to her friend.

Slowly, very slowly, Remus turned his head away from Harry to look at the door. "What did you do to him?" he growled.

Julia started to ask who he was talking to, but followed his gaze. She nearly had her second heart attack of the night when she spotted the man she'd thought about more in the past week than any other time in the last six years.

Sirius steadily held Remus' glare. "I didn't do anything to him," he said hoarsely. "This is how I found him."

Remus' jaw clenched visibly—Julia wasn't sure if he believed Sirius or not—as he turned back to Harry. They realized the child was barely breathing as Remus unwrapped him from the cocoon of blankets. "We have to get him to Hogwarts," he said quietly. Julia was barely paying any attention—between Harry and Sirius, she was lucky not to have fallen off the bed again. "Julia," Remus said more forcefully. She snapped her eyes from Sirius' hollow ones to look at Remus. "Harry has to go to Hogwarts."

Julia nodded slowly. "Okay," she whispered.

Remus stood from the bed, obviously trying to regain control of the situation. He waited for Julia to push herself from the bed. She went to her wardrobe and fumbled around, looking for something to cover her thin nightshirt. She pulled out an old Puddlemere United jersey, and Remus realized too late that it had once belonged to Sirius.

Remus felt around for his wand—he'd had it a minute ago, but now it was nowhere to be seen. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to snap his head to the door. Sirius was bending over to the floor... to pick up Remus' wand. The werewolf exchanged a startled glance with Julia, who tightened the grip on her own wand—maybe she didn't trust Sirius as much as he'd thought...

But instead of turning the wand on the other two and holding them hostage, the Animagus tossed the wand in the air and caught it by its tip, handing it over to Remus. Slightly shocked at the surrender, Remus took his wand back.

"Doesn't mean I trust you," he muttered to the other wizard.

Sirius shrugged and backed into the wall, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Do you want me to take Harry?" Julia asked quietly through the tense atmosphere.

Remus nodded. "Yes, and I'll take him," he gestured to Sirius, "I'm sure Dumbledore will be thrilled to see him."

Julia moved to the other side of the room, biting her lip hard as she passed Sirius, and picked Harry up from the bed. She held the child close to her and walked out of the room. Remus and Sirius followed, the latter being held at wandpoint. Julia made it to the top of the stairs before she too began to shake.

Sirius pushed past Remus before the other wizard could stop him. "Julia, let me take him," he begged hoarsely.

"Don't you touch him," Remus spat, the tip of his wand between Sirius' eyes.

"She's going to drop him!" Sirius cried.

"What do you care?" Remus asked bitterly.

"I care a lot," Sirius said, hurt evident in his voice. "He's my godson."

Remus opened his mouth to reply, but Julia silenced him with a glare. "Are you two quite done now? We can discuss this when Harry's _not_ on the verge of death," she said to the both of them.

This stopped their verbal battle. Julia got a better grip on Harry and headed down the staircase. Sirius and Remus exchanged bemused looks and followed. Down in the living room, it took them a moment to find a Floo jar—Remus and Julia had been using Apparition to travel rather than the fireplace. Finally, the witch remembered she had a small packet of Floo powder in her purse, just enough for two one-way trips to Hogwarts.

Remus quickly retrieved it and instructed Sirius (by wandpoint) into the fireplace first—he would not be left alone with Julia and Harry. Sirius shook his head in disbelief, but did as instructed. Remus enlarged the fireplace with a wave of his wand and stepped in beside him, with his hand firmly around Sirius thin upper arm. He stowed his wand in his back pocket and threw a pinch of Floo powder at his feet, calling out their destination clearly. ("Hogwarts! Headmaster's office!") They disappeared in a whirl of green flames.

Julia stepped into the fireplace with a little more difficulty than the two wizards and poured the remains of the green powder at her own feet. She buried Harry's head in her chest to assure he wouldn't inhale any of the soot, and called out the same location as Remus had a moment before. Her grip around Harry tightened as they began to spin through the fireplaces. Julia closed her eyes to avoid being sick—she never did like Floo travel—and started to prepare herself for the impact she was sure to feel in a moment. She just hoped she didn't fall over with Harry in her arms.

She slid out of Dumbledore's fireplace and was caught around the middle by a pair of pale thin but strong arms. She looked up and found Sirius looking back at her. He attempted to smile and sat her back on her feet, making sure Harry was okay first.

"All right?" Remus asked her quietly, still glaring at Sirius. She adjusted he grip on Harry and nodded.

"How is he, Julia?" Albus Dumbledore's voice asked quietly.

"He's the same as before," she managed to say. "He'll be better when Madam Pomfrey has a look at him."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "Remus and Julia, you will come with me to the hospital wing with Harry. Mister Black will remain here until we return."

Sirius must have realized that there was no arguing with the Headmaster — he snapped his mouth shut and nodded. "Yes, sir," he muttered.

If Dumbledore was surprised by Sirius' manners, he didn't show it. He merely nodded and led Remus and Julia with Harry to the hospital wing.

* * *

"Who would care to begin the explanations?" Dumbledore asked solemnly as Madam Pomfrey started her examinations of Harry.

Remus lifted his head from his hands and looked next to him at Julia. The witch looked back just as helplessly as he felt. Luckily for them, Madam Pomfrey came at that moment to update them about Harry.

He'd be fine, she told them, after a few days under her care. He'd need plenty of nourishment replenishment potions and a few other antibiotics. She'd taken care of his sunburn for the most part, and was trying to get his fever under control now. The Healer also recommended a large feast for the child when he was up to it. Dumbledore told her he would inform the house-elves.

"Perhaps we should continue our discussion in my office. I would like to hear from the last member of your party, as well," Dumbledore said. Remus and Julia hesitated. "Harry will be fine with Madam Pomfrey, I assure you. I think you've both had plenty of experience with our Healer to know that she is superb in her field."

The two friends nodded and stood, with one last look at Harry, to follow their former Headmaster out of the hospital wing. As they walked along the dark corridors, Remus put an arm around Julia's shoulders in comfort—not just for her comfort, though; he needed it just as much at the moment.

Julia's head was spinning out of control. In the span of ten minutes she'd been unofficially reunited with both her godson and former love. Whatever happened next would change her life again. As much as she wanted to believe Sirius was truly innocent, as often as she told Remus he was, she wasn't sure what to think or do now.

There was a big difference in believing something about a person when there was almost no hope of ever seeing said person again. Applying that hope to when that person suddenly appears back into one's life...

Dumbledore muttered the password—neither of his companions heard what he'd said—and led the way past the stone gargoyles onto the revolving stone staircase.

When they entered the Headmaster's study, Sirius was waiting for them on the sofa next to Dumbledore's office. He spotted the new arrivals and sprang up from his seat. "How is he? Is he okay?" he demanded from them.

"Young Harry will be just fine, Sirius," Dumbledore said quietly, gesturing for Remus and Julia to take a seat in front of his desk. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and fell back to the sofa. "Now, however, I believe explanations are in order..."


	9. Nine

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Nine_

An hour later, Sirius had finished telling them everything. He told them about his "perfect bluff" with switching Secret-Keepers to Wormtail—he tried not to look at Remus or Julia as he spoke about not telling anybody what was going on. He told them about tracking Wormtail to London... He told them about Wormtail cutting off his own finger, blowing up the street, killing the twelve Muggles, and transforming into the rat and running off into the sewers.

At this point, he'd noticed Remus tensing in his seat beside Julia. Had he not told Dumbledore about the Marauders becoming Animagi? Sirius thought that would have been the first thing Remus told the Headmaster and the Ministry following Sirius' escape. Dumbledore silently requested that they explain the events of their fifth year, so for another half hour, Sirius, with minimal help from Remus, told him everything. The old wizard worked hard to disguise his surprise—it was hard to hide anything from Albus Dumbledore in his own school. Sirius felt a small sense of pride in knowing they'd pulled one past the Headmaster.

By the end of it all, the sun was starting to rise over the Quidditch pitch. Sirius was staring at his bare feet, praying they'd believed him—he didn't want to go back to Azkaban after all this. He wanted to see Julia's reaction, but she'd carefully shielded herself from him behind Remus.

After a while, the silence became too much for the wizard. "So what now?" he asked, not too surprised that his voice had grown hoarse once more. He hadn't talked so much in years...

Dumbledore sighed and looked at the three of them over his half-moon spectacles, finally stopping on Sirius. "Now, Sirius, I believe it is time we find you a new set of robes and inform the house-elves of your arrival. You are terribly thin, and I am certain they will assist in filling you out a bit."

Two sets of eyebrows rose—one belonging to Remus, the other to Sirius. "What?" the latter said, praying he heard what he thought he heard.

"You believe him?" Remus asked. Sirius thought—or rather, wished—he heard slight hope in his old friend's voice.

"I do believe him," Dumbledore confirmed. "Don't you think, Remus, that Sirius' version of events makes much more sense than the theory we've believed for nearly six years?"

"Yeah," Remus said weakly. "Yeah... Makes loads more sense."

Dumbledore smiled. "Julia, are you all right?" he asked the witch gently.

Sirius looked around Remus from his position on the sofa. Julia had her head buried in her hands, as she had since Sirius started to speak, but now her shoulders were trembling. Remus made a move to comfort her, but at the last moment, retracted his arm and looked over at Sirius.

Shaking slightly himself, Sirius stood from the sofa and went to kneel before the only woman he ever loved. "Julia," he said softly, moving her hands from her face gently. Her navy blue eyes were rimmed with red, tears were streaming down her tanned face. Sirius reached out a rough finger and softly wiped her tears.

"Sirius," she whispered.

"Hi," he said, attempting another smile.

She laughed slightly. "Hi," she whispered.

The two of them sat there for the longest time, their foreheads touching, just staring into each other's eyes. For them, there was no one else in the room. Dumbledore wasn't behind them, smiling serenely, wiping his own tears. Remus wasn't beside them, trying to hold back his emotions. Phineas Nigellus and the other deceased Headmasters and Headmistresses weren't in their portraits sniggering or crying in happiness.

Only when Dumbledore politely cleared his throat did either of them remember that they were not alone in the room. Sirius started and turned to face the Headmaster, noticing immediately that his lips were twitching.

"Perhaps the three of you would like to get reacquainted in private? You are free to go to the kitchens, or if you prefer, I can ask the house-elves to setup private quarters," he said, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Private quarters would be nice, sir," Remus said quietly.

Dumbledore inclined his head. "Consider it done."

His three former students stood, Julia with Sirius' help, and started to leave.

"Sirius," Dumbledore called before he closed the door. Sirius, holding onto Julia's hand as if he'd never let go, turned to the Headmaster. "Welcome back, my boy."

* * *

After a large breakfast provided by the Hogwarts house-elves, Sirius and Julia sat together on a dark red leather sofa facing a roaring fire. Remus sat beside them in an armchair, staring broodingly and silently into aforementioned fireplace.

Remus couldn't believe what was happening. After six years, after all the late nights Julia had spent telling him, the truth had come out. But Peter... Remus never would have believed Peter _capable_ of doing something like this. Dumbledore was right, though, as always; it did make more sense than the scene the Ministry and the _Daily Prophet_ had them believing for all those years. Sirius never would have betrayed the Potters. He never would have joined Lord Voldemort. And now Remus knew this was the truth. It was quite possible that Remus J. Lupin now had his brother back.

Julia seemed quite content, curled up in Sirius' arms as if no time had passed at all. She'd told Sirius after breakfast that he needed a long shower, a shave, and some deodorant before she sat next to him. Sirius was quick to point out that she'd been sitting next to him for the last hour. Julia retorted, blaming it all on momentary lack of sanity and a little shock, sending Remus a wink and a grin.

After only a few hours, the two of them had gone seemingly back to normal. Remus knew it wouldn't be nearly that easy for Sirius and himself. Their friendship had been nearly ruined before the deaths of Lily and James. And Sirius' supposed betrayal had sealed the deal, as the Muggles say, for the werewolf.

"Moony," Sirius said quietly.

Remus jumped slightly, causing Sirius to chuckle. His nickname sounded so foreign to his ears. Julia called him that once in a great while, but it was odd hearing it from the mouth of the man who'd come up with the name. "Yeah?" he said rather hoarsely.

For a moment there was silence, and Remus thought perhaps Sirius had fallen asleep. But when he turned his head to the sofa, Sirius was watching him intently, his arm around Julia's sleeping form. He didn't seem to know what to say.

"I'm sorry," he managed to croak out.

The emotion in his voice nearly caused Remus to start crying again. Instead, he nodded. "I'm sorry, too," he whispered. There was more, so much more, that needed to be said between the two, but it could wait for another day.

Remus struggled for something to say as silence fell between them again, and his eyes fell on Julia's head. He smiled.

"She never stopped believing in your innocence. No matter how often I told her otherwise... Now she's never going to let me live it down that I was wrong."

Sirius smirked and stroked her cheek with a pale finger. "I'm surprised she did believe I was innocent, to be honest. I thought she would have started hating me by now, and moved on to get married and have ten kids."

The werewolf shook his head. "You were the only one she ever wanted to be with, Sirius. And as for hating you... I don't think she could ever hate you. She did go through a short phase where she thought you were the scum of the earth for leaving her. But like I said, that passed quickly," he said rather lightly.

Sirius' face darkened. "I didn't want to leave her," he said more to Julia and himself than Remus. "I didn't want to leave any of you. But I wanted Wormtail to pay for what he'd done to Lily and James... and Harry," he added, his voice barely above a whisper.

Remus hesitated. "Sirius, if I'd known—"

Sirius waved him off. "I told you in Dumbledore's office: No one was supposed to know, not even Julia or you. I realize my mistake now, but back then..."

"It was tough to trust anyone," Remus finished quietly, staring at the floor.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah."

Remus nodded back. He spent a few pensive moments thinking about the dark days that tore the Marauders apart. "Well," he said quietly half an hour later, "I'm sure you'll want to get some sleep. If what you said is true, you haven't had a good night's rest since you were at my place."

Sirius spotted the humor in his eyes. "Yeah, well, your lumpy sofa isn't much to brag about," he muttered.

Remus laughed quietly to avoid waking Julia. "Good night, Padfoot."

"Good night, Moony."

* * *

Not six hours later, Sirius, Remus, and Julia were awake again and in the hospital wing to check on Harry. The child had improved greatly though the night, much to the relief of the adults. The big question now was what they would tell him when he regained consciousness. It had already been agreed between the three friends that Harry would not, no matter what Dumbledore said, return to the Dursleys.

"I'm his bloody godfather," Sirius had said angrily. "He's mine."

Remus and Julia didn't dare point out that Sirius was still considered a mad mass murdered by everyone but them. Instead, Julia rubbed his back in comfort, kissed his head, and said, "Yes, love, whatever you say."

After Harry's new home was sorted out, they needed to find a way to prove Sirius' innocence to the Ministry. Sirius said, and Dumbledore agreed with him, that nobody would believe him until Wormtail could be located; therefore, Sirius would remain in hiding, using his disguise as the large black dog, with Julia and Remus on Privet Drive.

"It could take weeks, months, or even years until the Ministry of Magic clears your innocence, Sirius," Dumbledore had said regretfully. "But until that time, you have my full support."

Over dinner in the kitchen that night, the three friends were laughing themselves stupid as Sirius and Remus relived stories from their days in school. Julia thought perhaps one of the house-elves, on Dumbledore's orders no doubt, had slipped Ogden's Old Firewhiskey into the wizard's drinks—they were loosening up around each other, and she couldn't have been happier with the developments.

Around midnight, their small party was interrupted when the portrait to the kitchen opened. Remus and Julia looked from the arrival to Sirius, who had stiffened in his chair, waiting for something to happen.

Severus Snape glared at the three former Gryffindors, ignored the house-elves' attempts to give him food, and stalked back out of the kitchen. Sirius returned to his plate of double chocolate chip cake as if nothing had happened.

"So," he said thickly through the cake. "Harry's birthday's coming up, isn't it?"


	10. Ten

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Ten_

Two days after his arrival at Hogwarts, Harry Potter finally started to wake. Only Sirius and Remus were present after the child opened his eyes; Julia had very reluctantly gone to work. Dumbledore told her it would arouse suspicion if she was suddenly absent from her job.

"I think my ribs might bruise from that hug she gave be before leaving," Sirius said, examining said ribs as he and Remus went to the hospital wing.

Remus chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised. Woman's a bloody vice-grip, I tell you."

Sirius dropped his shirt and stopped in the corridor, looking curiously at Remus. "What's a vice-grip?" he asked.

Remus smiled and rolled his eyes. "Nothing, Padfoot," he said, continuing on his way.

When they entered the hospital wing, it was to find Madam Pomfrey standing over Harry's bed. The scene immediately startled the two young wizards—had something happened to Harry during the night? Sirius paled, and Remus vaguely wondered how it was possible to get any paler than Sirius already was.

They reached Harry's bed and breathed an immediate sigh of relief. Harry was wide awake, sitting up in his bed, eyeing the Hogwarts nurse warily. "He won't let me near him with my wand," the Healer muttered quietly to them.

"That's because he doesn't know any better," Remus said quietly, approaching the child. "Hello, Harry. Do you remember me?"

Harry nodded slowly. "You're Mrs. Figg's friend, Norris," he said.

Remus ignored the snort from the man beside him. "Actually, Harry, my name is Remus Lupin. I was a friend of your mum and dad."

Harry's eyes widened. "You knew my mum and dad?" he whispered almost in awe.

Remus smiled sadly. "Yes, they were two of my best friends." He heard Sirius give a small, sad sigh. "Harry, I'd like you to meet another friend of mine. This is Sirius Black."

"Hello, Harry," Sirius said quietly.

Harry didn't reply, but studied Sirius curiously for a few moments. "I know you," he said quietly.

Sirius and Remus exchanged bewildered glances and the latter felt a pang of jealously, thinking Harry meant he'd recognized Sirius from five years ago.

"You do?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah... You saved me from Dudley the other day..." Harry said.

"You did?" Remus asked Sirius with raised eyebrows.

"As Padfoot..." Sirius whispered, his brow furrowing in thought. "But how did you recognize me, Harry?"

"Your eyes," Harry said simply. "You and that dog have the same eyes."

Sirius smiled. "We do," he said quietly. "What?" he added at Remus' look.

"Exactly how long were you on Privet Drive, Sirius?" Remus asked sternly, crossing his arms.

"How long were _you_ on Privet Drive, Remus?" Sirius countered with a grin.

Remus rolled his eyes, shook his head, and turned back to Harry. Surely, a five-year-old would be easier to converse with than Sirius Black... "How are you feeling, Harry?"

"Fine, but..." Harry trailed off uncertainly.

"But what, Harry?" Sirius prompted.

Harry seemed to hesitate. "W-where am I?" he asked quietly as if he didn't know if he should have asked the question at all.

"You are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mister Potter," said a quiet voice behind Sirius and Remus. The two wizards turned to find Dumbledore standing directly behind them. "Hello, Harry, how are you?"

"Ah, this is Professor Dumbledore, Harry," Remus said in introduction. "He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Hello, sir," Harry said shyly.

Dumbledore smiled. "Hello, again." He turned to the younger wizards. "I've just come to see how our patient is fairing, boys."

"He's doing well, as far as we can tell, sir. But I think he wants answers," Sirius said.

"Well, the two of you are infamous with giving explanations, whether it be trying to get yourselves out of trouble after a rather extravagant prank, or something as simple as this," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

For a moment, Sirius and Remus looked at him incredulously. But Dumbledore only smiled and wished them a good afternoon before going about his business elsewhere in the castle.

"The man's mental," Sirius muttered, turning back to his godson.

Harry's brow was furrowed deeply. "Witchcraft?" he said, looking at Remus for an answer.

Remus nodded. "Magic," he said simply.

Harry averted his eyes to the white blanket covering his lap, muttering something that sounded to Sirius like "no such thing as magic."

"What do you mean, Harry?" Sirius asked gently.

"Er, Sirius," Remus interjected as Harry opened his mouth. "Perhaps you should wait a bit for this conversation... You and I need to talk first..."

Sirius only raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Actually, I would like to hear it from Harry," he said coolly. "What makes you think there's no such thing as magic?" he added to the child.

"Uncle Vernon said so," Harry muttered. Sirius' jaw clenched, and his face grew slightly red. The child's eyes grew wide. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad," he added hastily.

"It's all right, Harry," Remus said, shooting a glare at Sirius. "He's not mad at you."

"Never," Sirius said, calming himself immediately.

"Harry, why don't you rest for a bit? Sirius and I will come back and talk to you later. Is that okay?"

Harry nodded. "That lady... she had a stick..."

Remus smiled. "That's Madam Pomfrey, she's a nurse. The stick she had was a wand. It will make you feel better," he explained.

"Okay," Harry said, still sounding unsure. "When will you come back?" he called as Sirius and Remus made to leave.

"Soon, Harry, very soon," Remus assured him.

Harry seemed satisfied by this answer, so Remus continued to drag Sirius out of the room by his robe. Once the large oak doors were closed, Sirius turned on Remus. "What the hell did you do that for? I wanted to talk to him!"

"I know, but there are a few things I need to tell you about Harry first. Arabella Figg and I had a long conversation about him last week," Remus said, his face not betraying anything.

And so they talked. Remus told Sirius what Arabella told him about Harry. How the Dursleys told everyone that Harry's parents were killed in a car crash, and how they were good enough to take him in as a baby when he had no one else. He told Sirius about how Harry knew nothing of the wizarding world. He told him about how Harry was treated by his relatives as if the past two days weren't a good enough example. He told him about how Harry never had any of his own things—he got his cousin's secondhand clothes that were too big for him.

Neither of them knew, however, where Harry had slept since his arrival at Number Four. If they did, not even Remus would have been as calm as he appeared, and Sirius would have cursed more loudly and colorfully than he had.

As promised, the two wizards returned to the hospital wing after lunch to visit Harry. They explained to the child about their world, what Hogwarts was, and how magic wands worked. By the end of their discussion, Harry seemed fascinated, but reluctant to admit it.

Finally it was discovered by a bit of digging on Sirius' part that Harry was nervous about going back to his aunt and uncle's home—he'd be in loads of trouble for not coming home when Dudley did. Sirius, keeping his temper in check as best he could, told him he wouldn't ever have to go back to his relatives. He would live with Sirius and Remus and their friend, Julia.

When Harry very shyly asked why they wanted him to live with them, Remus explained in terms he hoped Harry could understand about the roles of godparents. Harry, they hoped, understood what they were trying to say, and most importantly, that he would never have to see the Dursleys ever again.

Just before dinnertime, Madam Pomfrey shooed the two wizards out of the hospital wing, telling them Harry needed his rest.

The two friends found themselves lacking an appetite after the conversation with Harry, and decided to go for a stroll across Hogwarts grounds. Just as they exited the castle, they spotted Julia and Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper, heading for them.

"Hey, boys!" Julia called as she approached. Hagrid stopped in his tracks and stared as Julia rushed into Sirius' arms.

"S'true, then?" Hagrid muttered, approaching Remus. "He's really innocent, is he?"

"Yes, he is," Remus said quietly, still trying to get used to the fact himself.

Hagrid beamed. "Always knew it, I did! Knew you couldn't be as bad as everyone was sayin', Sirius!"

As Julia and Sirius released one another, Hagrid thumped the wizard on the back, nearly knocking all the wind out of him. "Er, thanks... Hagrid," Sirius coughed. "Good to see you, too."

Hagrid invited them over for tea before they left the school and said he had things to do. Julia and Remus hid grins as Hagrid almost knocked Sirius to the ground as the half-giant congratulated him one last time.

"So what have you two miscreants been up to while I've been slaving away at the Ministry?" Julia asked, taking an arm of each wizard as they walked to the lake.

"You tell her..." Sirius said to Remus, collapsing under a beech tree, pulling Julia down with him.

* * *

Three days later, Harry was declared completely healed by Madam Pomfrey and was allowed to leave the hospital wing. Sirius and his godson spent their days exploring the castle, and trying to avoid a certain Potions Master. Remus spent his days trying to locate Wormtail. He felt Sirius deserved to have some fun, so he and Dumbledore took care of the search. So far they hadn't found any leads, but neither wizard would give up.

Their fifth and last night at Hogwarts was spent on the Quidditch pitch. Sirius decided it was time Harry learned to fly. Julia had kindly asked the Hogwarts house-elves to prepare a picnic dinner for them, and they still had food left over, even after Sirius ravaged the basket. Remus and Julia sat in the Gryffindor stands as the sun set over the mountains and watched Sirius' and Harry's battles with the school brooms.

"He's good with him, isn't he?" Julia asked, watching Sirius hold Harry on the shaky Comet 25.

Remus nodded. "He is," he said. "He always was good with Harry. James couldn't always get the kid to stop crying, but Sirius could."

Julia smiled fondly. "Yeah..."

"Julia," Remus began, not wanting to break the peace. "Dumbledore and I were wondering... Has anyone at the Ministry asked you about Sirius?"

"Few times, actually," Julia admitted quietly, still watching the happenings on the pitch. "Fudge called me into his office the other day to question me. Of course, I told him I had no idea where Sirius was—which wasn't a complete lie; Sirius could have been anywhere in the castle at that time—" Remus laughed and Julia grinned.

"The dementors are increasing their search, Fudge said," Julia continued, her smile completely gone. "They-they've been given permission to K-kiss him if they find him..." The last sentence was barely audible.

"They won't find him," Remus assured firmly. "Everything will work out fine, you'll see."

"But what if we don't find Peter? Sirius can't stay indoors for the rest of his life; he'll go mad!"

"He won't have to stay indoors for the rest of his life, Julia. He has Padfoot as a disguise, doesn't he? He'll be fine. At least he has us, right?"

Julia nodded slowly. "Yeah, I suppose," she said quietly, looking out on the pitch. She started to laugh when Sirius' broomstick bucked him off. He'd been trying to show off in front of his godson, and apparently the broomstick didn't appreciate that.

"Sirius'll make a good dad," Remus said suddenly.

A smile began to grow on Julia's face. "He's still a child himself, even after five years in Azkaban."

"That's true," Remus conceded. "I think that's what will make him such a good father. Look at James; we all thought he was just a big kid, and I'm sure you can recall Lily's shock when she realized how good he was with a newborn."

"Oh yeah, I remember," Julia said with a laugh. "I'd think you'd make a good dad too, you know," she added, nudging Remus' shoulder with her own.

"Me?" Remus asked with a small disbelieving laugh. "I think I'll have to disagree with you there, my dear."

Julia rolled her eyes. "I mean it! We just need to find you a woman who has no loyalty whatsoever to the Dark Side," she said matter-of-factly,

"That'd be a nice change," Remus said darkly. "I'm in no hurry, Julia. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that my best friend _isn't_ a mad mass murderer."

"It'll happen," Julia assured him. "You two will be back to normal before you know it."

"OY! Moony, Julia! Time for dessert!" Sirius yelled from the Quidditch pitch, adjusting Harry on his shoulders and carrying their broomsticks.

Remus and Julia rolled their eyes at one another and raced down the stands, trying to get to picnic basket before the bottomless pit called Sirius ate all the cake.


	11. Eleven

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Eleven_

The day Sirius, Remus, Julia, and Harry were to return to Privet Drive happened to be the day of the full moon (convenient, eh?). Remus told the others that he wanted to go back to his home in Kent for the night... alone. Sirius insisted on going with Remus, not wanting his friend to suffer another full moon alone—not to mention, he was quite eager to have another full moon experience under his belt. Reluctantly, Remus agreed—it had been a long time since Sirius had spent a full moon with him, and Remus wasn't sure about the Animagus' strength. Sirius told him to shut his mouth and stop being such a girl.

Julia wished them both good luck, Sirius a bit more than Remus, took Harry in her arms, and Flooed back to Number Nine. When she stepped out of the fireplace, she found her godson grinning up at her. "That was fun," he said quietly.

Julia chuckled, giving him an odd look, thinking he was too much like his father for his own good, and put him on the floor. Harry looked around and froze when he heard the all-too familiar laughter of his cousin, Dudley. She answered the silent question he was giving her when he turned away from the window. "You won't be going back there, Harry. Don't worry about your cousin. If he messes with you, he'll answer to me, and tomorrow, he'll answer to Sirius and Remus. Okay?"

Harry smiled weakly and nodded. "Kay," he said quietly.

Julia smiled. "Now, I'm afraid we really don't have anything for you to play with right now, but we do have the television. Do you like television, Harry?"

"Yeah," he said shyly. "But Dudley always gets to pick the show..."

The witch sighed. They really had a lot of work with this child... "Well, tonight we'll watch whatever _you_ want. And if there's nothing on the telly, I'll take you to the cinema. How does that sound?"

Judging by the smile on Harry's face, Julia would say her offer sounded too good to be true to him.

* * *

Sirius and Remus sat at the kitchen table of Remus' cottage in silence. It wasn't awkward silence, though; they'd gotten over that last week. Currently, they were remembering the adventures they experienced at Hogwarts with Prongs... and Wormtail before he turned into a traitorous bastard.

Around 6:30, Remus began to pale and sweat. He could no longer hold up his butterbeer bottle, and had the beginnings of the shakes. Sirius quickly drained the rest of his drink and went to help his friend.

"Come on, Moony," he said softly, putting an arm around Remus' waist. In turn, Remus put one of his weak arms around Sirius' shoulder.

Carefully, they went down the stairs together to the basement Remus used for his transformations. It was the same as Sirius remembered it to be: bare and dirty. He could see spots of blood Remus had missed during clean-up from his last full moon. _He'll be okay tonight,_ Sirius thought firmly. _I'll be sure of that..._

"Sirius," Remus said hoarsely, allowing Sirius to help lower him to the ground.

"Yeah?" Sirius said, assisting Remus in exchanging his old robes for a blanket. _If the only robes Remus has are these dirty old rags, maybe he should wear them, tear them up, and let me buy him some new ones... He'd deserve them..._ Sirius thought.

"Thank you," Remus said quietly.

Sirius looked up, realizing Remus wasn't just talking about his clothes. He nodded and smiled, not sure if he could just say thank you in return to his best friend. "Anytime," he said for the time being.

Remus' entire body stiffened and Sirius backed away into the stairs, transforming into Padfoot, and turning away—Remus didn't like people watching him transform. The screams of pain coming from the other side of the basement reminded Sirius of Azkaban.

_But this isn't Azkaban, and I'll never go back there, _he thought forcefully.

Ten minutes later, the screams were replaced with loud, painful howls. Remus' transformation was complete. Slowly, Padfoot turned around to face the brown werewolf curled up, whining in pain, facing away from him.

* * *

Moony started to growl deeply in his throat. There was a familiar scent behind him, but he couldn't turn around just yet. He'd known that scent in his youth—the scent brought him images of trees and lakes and stags, rats, and dogs. The scent belonged to a friend, a pack mate. But why had it taken so long for the large black dog to return? Moony had been waiting for five long years for his friends to join him after their sudden disappearances. Not until now did one of them join him. And where was the stag's scent? He realized the rat wasn't a friend anymore, but Moony still wanted the stag and the dog together—it just wasn't the same without the stag...

Suddenly, Moony was angry. He sprang up to face the dog. The dog, thinner than Moony recalled, studied him thoughtfully, not showing any sign of fear as Moony bared his teeth in threat. He wasn't really threatening the dog, but demanding to know where the stag had gotten to... He really liked the stag...

Moony's growls became louder, and the dog stood his ground, starting to growl as well, but his were playful—it was the growl Moony remembered the dog using when they first met. Moony's friend was back—a little beat up, a little tortured, but he was back.

Moony barked. He was taught how to bark by the dog. The dog barked back, his tongue hanging out in a canine-grin.

Moony bent his front knees, laying his head on the ground with his tail wagging happily in the air. Padfoot made a sound like a chuckle. Padfoot... that was the dog's name...

The two canines wrestled like old times, but going easier on one another than they used to—they still had to get used to each other again. They played for hours, remembering the stag and the stag's young fawn, and Padfoot's mate. They would be a family, a pack, like they should have been years ago.

Finally, Moony and Padfoot seemed to tire each other out. They curled up in front of a small window close to the basement's ceiling watching the moon, waiting for it to wane.

* * *

Next morning, once Remus had gained some of his strength back, he and Sirius Flooed back to Number Nine, Privet Drive. They found Julia and Harry curled up together on the sofa across from the fireplace, an empty bowl of popcorn, fizzy Muggle drink cans, and candy wrappers littering the coffee table in front of them.

Sirius grinned at the sight. "Looks like they had a lot of fun, eh?" he said quietly to Remus.

Remus chuckled hoarsely. "I guess we missed out," he joked. He left Sirius to wake the other two while he went upstairs to take a long, hot bath.

Sirius stood in place for a moment, just watching Julia and Harry sleep, a soft smile forming on his pale face. This is the way things should have been... _No,_ he corrected himself immediately. _Lily and James should have never been killed. But if this is what I have to settle for, it'll do just fine._

Julia must have sensed his stare—she began to stir. He moved forward and knelt beside the sofa, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "Morning," he greeted softly as she opened her eyes.

She smiled for a moment as though waking from a wonderful dream to find it had come true. "Morning," she said. "How's Remus?"

"Fine," he replied quietly, not wanting to wake Harry. "Did you two have a late night? Should I be jealous?" he teased.

She laughed softly. "Oh yes, Padfoot, I'm leaving you for our godson."

Sirius smirked. "I won't allow it. He's mine."

Julia rolled her eyes. "You're such a prat," she whispered.

"Language, love. And yes, I am, but you still love me."

"Keep thinking that, Black," she muttered as he leaned in to kiss her.

Their moment was interrupted by a yawn. Sirius pulled away from her and chuckled. "Now I know what James was talking about, how Harry always used to interrupt him and Lily."

Julia glared at him slightly, though her lips were twitching, and looked down at her godson. "Good morning, Harry," she said quietly.

Harry opened his emerald green eyes and looked around for a moment as though he wasn't sure where he was. _Probably thinks it's all a dream_, Sirius thought sadly. _I'm in the same mode of thought, kid._

"Hand me his glasses, Sirius," Julia requested. Sirius did, and watched Julia gently place the glasses on Harry's face. She'd repaired them a few days before, taking away the need for spello- tape on the bridge of the round-rimmed spectacles.

"Hi," Harry said a bit shyly to Julia.

"Hi," Julia smiled. "Look, Sirius is back."

Harry turned his head and smiled when he spotted his godfather. "Hi, Sirius," he said quietly.

"Hey, kid," Sirius said, moving some hair away from Harry's forehead. "How are you?"

"Good," the child responded. "Is Remus back too?"

Sirius nodded. "He's just upstairs taking a bath. He smells," he added in a loud whisper, causing Harry to giggle and Julia to slap his shoulder.

"What?" Sirius asked, rubbing his shoulder. "It's true."

Harry giggled harder, and Julia could no longer hide her smile.

"Okay, who wants breakfast?" Sirius said, standing and rubbing his hands together.

"Are you cooking?" Julia asked with a raised eyebrow. Sirius nodded happily. "Then you're on your own. I won't let you poison Harry with your wretched cooking," she said, sitting up with Harry beside her. The two stood and started towards the kitchen.

Sirius pulled her back by her arm. "I seem to remember," he began huskily, "that you rather enjoyed my breakfasts after our," he cleared his throat, "late nights."

Julia rolled her eyes, refusing to be fooled by Sirius Black's charm. "That was a long time ago, Black," she said airily, pushing away from him. "Besides, I've found somebody else. You could learn a few things from Harry. Now _that's_ a wizard."

Sirius looked into the kitchen to where Harry was trying to climb the counter for a drinking glass. "Yes, I see what you mean," he said gravely. "Very well, you may cook breakfast."

* * *

Julia and Remus stood outside the small bedroom they'd set up for Harry and watched the child play with his godfather. Since Sirius couldn't exactly show his face in public, Julia and Remus went out to a Muggle toy store to buy Harry some things for his birthday. Sirius had insisted they use money from his Gringotts vault, converted into Muggle currency, to make their purchases.

"Look, my mother's dead now, and the Black family fortune is mine. There's nothing in the world that would make Mother Dearest turn in her grave quicker than spending all her gold on Muggle toys for the Boy-Who-Lived," Sirius said almost cheerfully.

Eventually, Remus and Julia agreed (mainly to keep Sirius content and happy) and left Sirius and Harry alone in Number Nine—a decision they were sure to regret later. When they'd returned some four hours later, their arms laden down with shopping bags, they received a shock to find that not only had the house been in one piece, but Sirius and Harry were quietly sitting on the sofa reading a book.

"Oh, hello," Sirius said, spotting the two of them. "How was shopping?"

Remus and Julia exchanged a startled glance. Sirius was acting a bit too innocently for anyone's good, and Harry seemed to have trouble breathing—his face was turning red as though he was holding his breath to keep from giving something away.

"Fine," Julia said slowly. "What did you do to the house, dear?" she added suspiciously.

"Nothing," Sirius replied.

Soon after, it was discovered that Sirius dyed all of Remus' clothes bright yellow. What wasn't clear, however, was _how_ he'd done it; Sirius Black didn't have a wand. Julia found empty bottles of food coloring in the trash later that night...

* * *

Harry's sixth birthday was a quiet affair—the only guest that could attend was Dumbledore. While Sirius and Harry explored the new toys (including a Mister Potato Head), Remus and Julia spoke with the Headmaster in the kitchen.

It was requested that the Dursleys be notified of Harry's new living arrangements. Remus was none too surprised to find out that Petunia and Vernon hadn't even reported Harry missing to Muggle authorities, and they found out that Petunia was telling her neighbors that Harry was in a detention camp for troubled children for the remainder of the summer.

"The wards surrounding Privet Drive protecting Harry will fall the very moment you tell Petunia where and with whom Harry is now residing," Dumbledore explained. "You may or may not stay on Privet Drive—I will leave that decision to you. But I must once again impress the importance of wherever you go, new charms and wards will need to be placed.

* * *

The next afternoon, while Sirius was occupied with Harry's Muggle toys, Remus and Julia crossed the street to Number Four. When Petunia finally answered the door, she was quite shocked to find Norris Prewitt in the company of her sister's freak best friend, Julia. Remus broke the truth of his identity and saw with a large amount of satisfaction that Petunia seemed to be torn between fear and anger.

They told Petunia quite patiently that Harry was safe in their care, and that the boy would not be returning to Number Four ever again. Remus suddenly felt a surge of magic around them—looking to his right, Julia had obviously felt it as well; Petunia remained oblivious. The wards protecting Harry on Privet Drive had fallen.

It was now their responsibility to keep Harry safe, a responsibility that should have been theirs to begin with, a responsibility that they were more than willing to take on. Nothing would happen to Harry as long as they had anything to do with it. He would no longer be neglected or unloved. He would have whatever he wanted, and would no longer have to go without because of a selfish family who despised his very being. He would go to Hogwarts and become the wizard Lily and James dreamed he would become.

Julia and Remus left Petunia Dursley's doorstep with a new outlook on life. Everything had changed in a week's time, and neither could remember being happier about change.

Next on their agenda was to find Wormtail and clear Sirius' name.


	12. Twelve

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Twelve_

Julia sat behind her desk in the Department of Wizard/Muggle Relations going over a new legislation about wizards taking jobs in the Muggle world when they couldn't find one in the Magical world. It had been her idea, really, after watching Remus go from job to job after being sacked repeatedly. She'd gone through the new law hundreds of times to be sure there could be no loopholes that could deny Remus' right to a job regardless of his condition. Finally, she thought it was ready to hand in to the Minster of Magic himself.

"Afternoon, Sedler," said a deep, quiet voice.

Julia started in her chair and turned to face Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Hey, Kingsley. What brings you up here?" The witch smiled.

"Sirius Black," he said clearly, watching her for any reaction.

Her smile faltered a bit. "Oh... What about him?" she asked, shuffling parchment and averting her eyes from the Auror.

Kingsley closed the door to Julia's office and performed a silencing charm around the room before sitting in front of the witch. Julia's heart was beating so rapidly in her chest she thought it might burst from her body any second now. What could he possibly want? Kingsley had been a good friend of Sirius' and James' when they worked at the Ministry years ago, and he remained a good friend of Julia's. The only problem she had with Kingsley at the moment—and it was a big problem—was that he was heading the hunt for Sirius.

"It's come to my attention, Julia," Kingsley began gravely, "that you've recently acquired a pet dog."

Julia hoped she didn't grow as pale as she thought she did. There was no way for Kingsley to know Sirius was an Animagus, none at all... Unless someone close to Sirius or someone who'd been one of Sirius' best friends in school had sent in a tip to the Auror... Maybe Peter...?

"Julia, I know everything," Kingsley said bluntly. "I know Sirius is with you and Remus and Harry."

Julia buried her face in her hands, her eyes quickly filling with tears. It was all over before it had even begun. Sirius, the love of her life, would go back to Azkaban and most likely receive the Dementor's Kiss. She and Remus would be taken to Azkaban for aiding and abetting a dangerous fugitive. And even worse than all that, Harry would be sent back to his Muggle relatives and they'd never see him again.

"Mad-Eye knows as well," Kingsley went on.

"Oh dear god," Julia breathed.

"I'm going to level with you, Julia. I like you and I like Remus, but you've got to understand my place in all of this. I'm supposed to be hunting Black, and after all the questioning you went through with us, not once did you mention he was an Animagus, and not once did you mention his living in your bloody house," Kingsley said calmly, almost lightly. Julia didn't notice the tone he was using, nor was she hearing his words, really; she was too caught up in what was going to happen to her family.

"How did you find out?" Julia asked in a shaky voice.

Kingsley sighed heavily. "Mad-Eye and I got a visit yesterday from a certain Headmaster."

Julia dropped her hands from her face and looked at Kingsley wide-eyed. The wizard was grinning. "Dumbledore told you?"

He nodded. "Yep. And I must say, he gave us a rather interesting version of events, one we never would have thought of. Moody took a bit of convincing, thought Dumbledore was going mental..."

"So... What now?" she asked nervously.

"Well," Kingsley said lightly. "Mad-Eye and I want to see him. We'd like to have a few words about life in general, how he escaped... How we're going to keep him hidden..."

* * *

"They want to WHAT!" Sirius asked loudly after Julia told him and Remus about her conversation earlier in the day.

"I was just as surprised," Julia began.

"Oh no, darling, I think my surprise is on a much higher scale than yours," Sirius said almost frantically. "How could Dumbledore tell them?'

Remus scratched his head. "He probably thought we'd have trouble keeping you hidden. Kingsley and Mad-Eye are two of the best Aurors the Ministry has. They know the history with you and Julia, you and me... Without inside help, they'd find us," he said calmly.

"Yeah, but—"

"Sirius, they were your friends," Julia said, rubbing his back and trying to calm his nerves a bit.

"Oh yeah," Sirius said, his voice cracking a bit. "Yeah, that kick Moody gave me in the stomach after throwing me into my cell in Azkaban was _real_ friendly, wasn't it?"

Remus' lips twitched. "Moody kicked you?" Sirius nodded. "Well, I think we all wanted to kick you that day, Sirius..."

Sirius glared at him. "If you two aren't going to take this seriously..."

"We are taking this seriously, Sirius, I assure you," Remus said calmly. "You're my best friend and I don't want to see anything happen to you. But Dumbledore wouldn't have told Mad-Eye and Kingsley unless he was sure he could trust them with your life."

Sirius rubbed his face roughly. "I hate his..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I hate hiding... I hate not knowing if my cover's going to be blown any second. And if they catch me, they'll take the two of you with me. I shouldn't have come here..."

Julia sat beside her boyfriend, taking his face in her hands. "Don't say that," she said sternly. "If you hadn't come here... if you'd just hidden out somewhere in a cave or something... They would have captured you, you would have gotten the Kiss, and we would have never known the truth. Dammit, Sirius, think about Harry! He would have _died_ if you hadn't found him and brought him to us..."

Sirius pulled away from her and started pacing around the kitchen, his hands clasped behind his neck. Remus and Julia watched him brood, exchanging a look. Neither of them had really put much thought into how hiding out from the Ministry was affecting Sirius. He never sat down and told them anything that didn't have to do with Harry. It seemed to them that the only thing on Sirius' mind since his return to Privet Drive a few weeks ago was the pure joy of being with friends and family again.

"When?" Sirius asked quietly, facing away from them, his hands on the kitchen counter. Remus and Julia looked at him questioningly. "When do Mad-Eye and Kingsley want to come by?" he asked after their long silence.

* * *

Harry and Sirius were in the living room two nights later watching cartoons on the television. Sirius was trying his best to hide his nerves from his godson. He obviously hadn't done a good job of it, because Harry kept looking at him questioningly, asking if he was all right. Normally, Sirius would laugh at the jokes on the television, and make Harry laugh so hard his sides hurt. Tonight, though, he hadn't said much of anything, and the grip he kept around his godson while the boy sat in his lap was almost painful.

The grip lessened considerably when the doorbell rang and Sirius began to shake. Remus poked his head out of the kitchen where he was helping Julia with dinner and gave Sirius an encouraging smile—it ended up as more of a grimace. Apparently, Remus was just as nervous about the meeting tonight.

"Alright, kid, I need you to stay here for a bit," Sirius said, his voice trembling slightly as he removed Harry from his lap.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked quietly. "Are the bad people here to take you?" Julia, Remus, and Sirius had explained to Harry everything that was happening. The six-year-old seemed to understand the importance of what it meant that Sirius remain hidden, and why Sirius couldn't leave Number Nine unless he was in his dog form.

"No, Harry, the bad people aren't here," Sirius said. _I hope not, at least, _he added silently. "It's just some old friends. Don't worry, okay?"

Harry nodded and Sirius transformed into Padfoot as Julia entered the room. "Ready, Sirius?" she said to the dog. Padfoot nodded slightly and followed her to the door.

On the front porch stood Kingsley Shacklebolt wearing nice Muggle clothing, and a man who liked as if Kingsley had found him on the streets. He wore a long shaggy coat and a black bowler hat to conceal the right side of his face.

"Hello, Mad-Eye, Kingsley," Julia greeted with a smile. Kingsley returned the smile and Mad-Eye grunted, saying they needed to get inside quickly.

Remus entered the hallway, wiping his hands on a towel. "Hello, Lupin," Mad-Eye growled. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Remus smiled warmly and shook the old Auror's scarred hand. "Yes, I've been rather busy with... one thing or another," he said evasively.

"Where is he?" Mad-Eye asked, abandoning all pretence of small talk.

Julia moved aside to reveal the large, black shaggy dog. Mad-Eye and Kingsley studied him for long moments before the younger Auror actually burst out laughing. "I bloody well knew it!" he exclaimed. "That time in the Auror lunch room... I had a piece of cake and this stray dog comes waltzing in and steals it from the table!"

Remus grinned. "He did it on a dare from James. They told us about it afterwards."

Mad-Eye didn't see the humor as he continued to watch the dog. "Let's see you then, Black," he growled.

Padfoot looked to Remus for reassurance. The wizard nodded and Sirius transformed. "Good to see you, Mad-Eye, it's been a while."

"Indeed it has," Mad-Eye said gruffly. The Auror and his former pupil started at one another, sizing each other up for long tense minutes.

Finally, Julia offered the Aurors some tea and led them into the living room where Harry was waiting. He eyed the visitors with nervous interest. Sirius reached down and took his godson in his arms, holding him closely, protectively.

"Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, this is Harry Potter," Remus introduced them. "Harry, this is Mister Moody and Mister Shacklebolt."

"Hi," Harry said shyly, laying his head on Sirius' shoulder.

The two wizards watched Harry, obviously thinking about how much he looked like his father already. Moody removed his bowler hat and said hello to the boy.

Harry's eyes widened at the sight of the strange, large electric-blue eye the wizard had. "What happened to your eye?" he asked in innocent awe.

Moody narrowed his eyes at the boy while the others tried to hold back their laughter. "Too much like his father, this one," he said gruffly before smiling and laughing.

Thanks to Harry, the tension of the meeting was cut in half. Dinner proceeded amidst old friends reminiscing and getting to know one another again. The Aurors took the hints from Harry's guardians and didn't discuss the search for Sirius until after the child had been taken to bed.

"But me and Sirius were going to play hide-and-seek," Harry protested as Julia led him from the kitchen.

"You and Sirius can play all day tomorrow, honey, but right now it's time for bed," was Julia's response.

Sirius, Remus, Mad-Eye, and Kingsley were left in the kitchen to drink coffee—Mad-Eye declined, preferring his hip flask.

"Boy seems attached already," Mad-Eye observed, his magical eye pointing to the ceiling.

"Feeling's mutual," Sirius said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Might not've been a good idea bringing him into all this until your name's cleared, Black. It's not safe for a child with the dementors all over the place."

Sirius exchanged a glance with Remus. "We're taking care of it," Sirius replied.

"How is it possible," Mad-Eye continued, "to keep this boy completely safe with only two wands in the house? Sedler isn't here during the day, and Lupin probably doesn't stay here all the time, right?"

"What are you getting at Mad-Eye?" Sirius asked a bit heatedly.

"What I'm getting at, Black, is that you'd be no good to the boy if a dementor shows up here, and Lupin and Sedler are gone," Mad-Eye said calmly.

"Well, my wand was destroyed when I was arrested, and I can't exactly go into Ollivander's for a new one, can I?" Sirius said bitterly.

"We found a way around that," Kingsley said quietly, reaching into his pocket. He retrieved a long, black box and passed it over the table to Sirius. "Dumbledore asked us to save it for evidence. On a whim, we tried _Priori Incantatem_ a few years back. Somebody'd already done it. Mad-Eye thinks someone inside the Ministry knew you were innocent and hid the information from everyone else."

"My wand..." Sirius whispered, ignoring everything else Kingsley was saying as he took the mahogany tube of wood from its box.

"Oh dear god," came a fearful voice from the doorway. The wizards turned to find Julia leaning against the doorframe, a smile on her face. "Sirius Black has a wand again... Everyone run for the hills."

* * *

A week following the meeting between the Aurors, Sirius, Remus, and Julia, the witch was walking through the Ministry, her entire focus on the parchment in her hands as she went to speak with Minister Fudge. She felt something brush against her foot and looked down. A brown rat was scurrying away from her quickly. Her brow furrowed.

_That's not possible,_ she thought slowly. _It can't be that easy..._

On instinct, she followed the rat through the Ministry corridors, pushing aside other workers as she went, forgetting all about the paperwork in her hands. She took out her wand as the rat turned a corner and muttered a quick sleeping spell. The rat fell to the floor unconscious. She looked behind her to make sure no one was watching, and picked the rat up by its tail, dropping it into her robes.

She rushed back to her office, closed and locked the door, and took the rat from her robe pocket, setting it on her desk for examination.

"Please god, please," she muttered over and over to herself, her eyes closed tightly. When she opened her eyes, she examined the rat closely. It was missing a toe on its right front paw... She flipped it over to its back and found the familiar scar on the rat's stomach—it was the result of an accident the Marauders had back in Hogwarts involving Moony and Wormtail... There was one last thing she could do to know for sure if this was the rat they'd been searching for, but she'd have to do it in the company of Sirius and Remus.

There was a knock on her door, and Julia quickly opened her desk drawer, sweeping the rat inside, and slamming it shut. "Come in," she called shakily.

It was Arthur Weasley. Beside him was a boy of about nine years old with Arthur's red hair and horn-rimmed glasses. "Hello, Julia," Arthur said with a smile. "Sorry to interrupt, but my son here seems to have lost his pet rat... We were just checking to see if anyone's seen it?"

"No," Julia said quickly, clearing her throat. "No, I-I haven't seen a rat anywhere..." The boy looked disappointed. "I hope you find your pet soon..."

"Thank you, ma'am," the boy said a bit stiffly.

"Come along, Percy. Thank you, Julia," Arthur said, leading his son out of the office and closing the door behind them.

"But I _saw_ her put something in her robes, Father!" she could hear the boy saying as their voices faded away.

Julia smiled tightly, her heart racing. She had to get home and show this rat to Sirius and Remus. This might just be the break they've been praying for...


	13. Thirteen

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Thirteen_

The majority of Privet Drive was winding down in the dusk hours; parents were all getting their children bathed and settled and ready for bed. As far as they were concerned, nothing odd at all was happening in their neighborhood, and they knew a lot; many of the wives on Privet Drive made it their business to know the goings on of everything and everyone around them. They believed the young couple living in Number Nine, the Prewetts, were a bit odd, but nice enough. They'd taken in that strange Potter boy recently—apparently, the woman held some sort of relation to the boy—and had found a rather sickly-looking dog at the local pound. They were an odd family, but seemed happy enough. They never bothered anybody, preferring to stay in the confines of their own home with the shades drawn, so the residents of Privet Drive didn't give them much thought.

But while Privet Drive slipped into another peaceful, oblivious evening, the family of Number Nine was about to either have their prayers answered or receive yet another disappointment.

Remus and Julia stood beside one another in an office Remus had setup, a shoebox open on the desk before them. Inside the shoebox lay a sleeping rat that'd lost patches of its light brown fur and had become quite thin.

"What do you think?" Julia asked her friend quietly.

Without taking his eyes from the rat, Remus responded, "I think it's too good to be true..."

Julia sighed. "We can try an Animagus reversal spell... see if it's really him..."

"We could, but chances are high that if Sirius walks in here and sees Peter Pettigrew standing before us, he's not going to be too happy."

"He has to know, though."

"And he will, but not until we've been able to explain it to him."

"Explain what?" said a voice from the doorway, causing the other two to jump noticeably. "Moony, are you trying to steal my woman?" Sirius grinned.

Remus and Julia didn't even roll their eyes. Remus closed the lid of the shoebox quickly while Julia went to Sirius. "Baby, we've got something to tell you," she said, taking his hands in hers.

Sirius' eyes widened. "I was just kidding about you and Remus, Jules..." he whispered. He looked away from her for a second to glare at Remus who leaned casually against the desk. "I'll bloody kill you..." he added to Remus in a growl.

"Sirius, no! That's not what we need to tell you," Julia said quickly, holding him back. "Look, I was on my way to meet Fudge today, and I, er, sort of ran into an old friend..."

Sirius looked at her questioningly. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. She told him the story of the rat scurrying across her feet, about charming it to sleep, and examining it in her office. She finished with Arthur Weasley and his son coming into her office, searching for the rat.

Naturally, Sirius demanded to see it. Remus and Julia exchanged an uneasy glance as Sirius removed his girlfriend's death grip from his waist and crossed the room. His face was impassive as he opened the shoebox and looked inside. He picked the rat up by its tail. "It's him," he said in a muttered growl, dropping the rat into the shoebox and taking his wand from his belt loop.

"SIRIUS!" Julia and Remus shouted in unison, forcing him to lower his wand arm. "If you kill him now," Julia said hastily, "we'll never be able to prove you're innocent."

"I wasn't going to kill him," Sirius muttered unconvincingly. "We need to force him to reveal himself."

"We'll do it together, then," Remus said quietly but sternly.

After a one-sided glaring contest, Sirius nodded his agreement. The three friends held their wands at the ready, and Remus reached into the shoebox and took the rat out, setting it on the desk. After a count of three, a bright white light filled the room. Once the light faded, and their eyes adjusted again, they found that the rat had disappeared. In its stead was a man who looked to be around the same age as them, patches missing from his mousy brown hair, his fat body looking as though he'd lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. They automatically looked at his right hand—he was missing a finger...

It was Peter Pettigrew.

Remus muttered the counter-charm to Julia's sleeping spell and the man's eyes opened slowly. He started, realizing he wasn't in the same place he'd been when he'd fallen asleep. He looked around groggily, fearfully, his watery blue eyes stopping on his old friends.

"Hello, Peter," Remus said coldly. "It's been a long time."

Peter squeaked, looking around the room for an escape route. The only exit was the door that Sirius, Remus, and Julia just happened to be blocking. "R-Remus... J-Julia... S-S-Sirius..." the rat stuttered. "My dear, old friends… I-I've missed you."

"Bet you have," Sirius growled.

Julia shook her head slowly. "You bastard..." she breathed. "How could you?"

Peter gulped. "D-don't know what you're t-talking about..."

"You know exactly what we're talking about, Pete," Remus said calmly. "You are the reason Lily and James are dead... The reason Sirius spent five years in Azkaban. And do yourself a favor, Peter, don't try to deny it. We've had a bad few weeks."

"It's finally time, Peter," Sirius said, "for you to get what you deserve." He raised his wand before Remus or Julia could stop him, pointing it at Peter. "_STUPEFY!_"

* * *

Sirius wandered into Harry's bedroom in the middle of the night. Julia was still sleeping quite soundly, even happily, but Sirius couldn't stop his mind from moving in overdrive. They'd transformed Peter back into the rat he was, and had placed him into an unbreakable glass cage before contacting Dumbledore with the news. The Headmaster would arrive first thing in the morning to form a plan on what to do next. Peter was now being kept in Remus' room, where the wizard could keep an eye on him, and Sirius wouldn't be able to sneak in and do anything irreversible.

Carefully, Sirius lay down on Harry's twin-size bed, pulling the sleeping child into his arms.

"Soon, Harry," he whispered, smoothing out Harry's hair. "Soon we'll get out of this mess — out of this stupid neighborhood. Julia and I will finally get to raise you the way we should have been able to years ago…

"I'm so sorry, Harry…" he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to look out for you until now. I wish more than anything in this world that things could have been different for me… for _you_… Could you imagine, Harry, what things would have been like if none of this had happened, if your mum and dad were still with us? You'd probably have little brothers or sisters. Julia and I would be married with kids of our own. Remus would have been their godfather…

"Everything will be all right soon, Harry…" Sirius whispered, and kissed the top of his godson's head. He slid down the bed, still holding Harry to him, and fell asleep.

* * *

The next afternoon, Harry was sitting on the floor of the living room coloring a picture in an activity book while Sirius, Remus, and Julia sat in the kitchen with Dumbledore, the shoebox containing Peter in the center of the table.

Dumbledore had formed a plan and had just finished explaining it to the other three. If the stunning spell somehow wore off, if the unbreakable glass jar somehow broke, and Peter was free in the house, the headmaster feared he might attempt to harm or kidnap Harry, or worse. Peter would therefore be taken to Hogwarts for safekeeping. Kingsley and Mad-Eye would arrive at Number Nine while Remus and Julia were conveniently out of the house. The two Aurors would show up under the pretense of learning of a break-in to a Muggle house. Sirius would be arrested and taken to the Ministry of Magic holding cells where he would await a transfer to Azkaban. Before being taken to the prison, however, Dumbledore would insist on a trial, stating he had new evidence in Sirius' case.

"During the trial," Dumbledore said, "I will reveal Pettigrew to the Wizengamot, and unless some unknown factor appears, you will be set free."

Sirius wasn't too fond of this plan; too many things could go wrong. Julia took his shaking hand in hers, silently telling him everything would work out.

"Do you trust me, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, looking deeply into the young wizard's gray eyes.

"Of course," Sirius responded promptly, his voice rather hoarse.

Dumbledore nodded. "I would recommend that Harry leave with Julia and Remus. Take him somewhere for the day to keep him occupied. He may not take what's happening well. He seems quite fond of the three of you, and I would hate to have him put through seeing his godfather arrested."

* * *

Over the next few days, Sirius, Julia, and Remus packed all of their belongings into boxes to move back to Remus' cottage, and Sirius' and Julia's flat. After Sirius' trial, there would be no other reason to remain on Privet Drive.

On the day the Aurors were to arrest Sirius, Julia attached herself to him, not wanting to say goodbye to him again.

"You're the one who said it'll be okay," Sirius said, holding her just as tightly as she held him. "It'll only be a few days, and then we'll be able to go back to normal."

She nodded into his chest, probably not even taking any of his words in. Her cheeks stained with tears. She pulled away from him slightly, moving her arms from his waist to his neck, and pulling him towards her for a long kiss. "I love you," she whispered.

It was the first time she'd said those words since they'd been reunited. He smiled sadly, feeling his own eyes stinging with tears. "I love you too," he said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She sniffed and released him, leaving the living room to find Harry.

"Good luck, Padfoot," Remus said to his best friend.

Sirius smiled at him as well. "Thank you, Moony." The two friends embraced tightly for a long moment. When they released each other, Remus kissed Sirius' forehead, wiping at his eyes gruffly. Sirius had been right, Remus thought. Though Dumbledore's plans were nearly always successful, there were still a great many things that could go terribly wrong.

Before Remus, Julia, and Harry left for the cottage, where the witch and child would stay until after Sirius' trial, Sirius knelt down to say a temporary goodbye to his godson. "I have to go away for a bit, Harry," the wizard said quietly.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

Averting his eyes, Sirius replied, "It's not important, but I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, I want you to be good for Remus and Julia. It's going to be your job to protect them, all right?"

Harry nodded, not really understanding, but hugged Sirius tightly.

"Come on, Harry," Remus said quietly when godfather and godson pulled away from each other. "It's time to go…"

Sirius gave Julia once last kiss, and gave her his wand, asking her to keep it safe. She tearfully promised she would and left Number Nine through the fireplace, taking Harry with her, before she burst into tears. Remus left next, and Sirius sat on the sofa, waiting for the Aurors to arrive.

He didn't have to wait long before the back door was forced open, and four Aurors discovered him in the living room. For the second time in his life, Sirius was apprehended and Apparated to the Ministry of Magic by Kingsley Shacklebolt.


	14. Fourteen

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Fourteen_

Sitting at the kitchen table of an old cottage deep in the forests of Kent, a man, a woman, and a child of six years old silently ate their dinners. The woman's hands shook slightly—they hadn't stopped shaking for days really—as she tried to cut the child's chicken for him. She worried over the face of a man whose picture had appeared numerous times that week on the cover of the _Daily Prophet_. Her co-workers at the Ministry of Magic thought she was worried he would be set free by some error of the Wizengamot. She'd been acting oddly since his escape from Azkaban, her emotions oddly strained.

But on the day Sirius Black was recaptured by Mad-Eye Moody and his Aurors, she'd owled in to the Ministry, saying she was ill and couldn't come to work. Nobody really thought twice about it; they knew she'd become quite close with an old school friend, Remus Lupin, and they were probably just assuring one another that they were safe once again.

In reality, Remus was comforting Julia, but not in the way her co-workers believed. It had only been a few days since she'd been separated from Sirius, and she was already nothing more than a heap of nervous emotions. If she hadn't had Remus and Harry nearby... Well, it was safe to bet that she'd be more miserable than she already was. Not that Remus was fairing any better; he could just hide his apprehension about the coming days better than she could. Regardless of the assurances Dumbledore had repeatedly given them, neither of them knew what would happen with Sirius' trial. What if the wizarding high court ignored the fact that Peter Pettigrew was still alive? What if they still decided all of the evidence that pointed to Sirius' innocence, and sent him back to Azkaban to receive the Dementor's Kiss?

"May I watch television?" Harry asked quietly through the tense atmosphere of the kitchen.

Remus smiled. "Of course, Harry," he said. The boy smiled back a bit shyly and pushed his chair away from the table, going to the living room. Remus turned to Julia. She hadn't eaten any of her dinner—actually, she hadn't eaten in days. "He knows something's wrong, Julia," Remus said quietly.

Julia looked away from her plate of chicken and vegetables she'd been pushing around with a fork into the living room where Harry sat. "Of course he does," she whispered. "He's James' son, after all."

Remus smiled sadly. "Indeed he is," he conceded. He watched Julia stare off into nothing for a moment, and thought of something that could possibly cheer her up a bit. "I received a letter from Dumbledore today. He says Sirius is doing as well as can be expected. Kingsley and Mad-Eye are doing most of the guard duties over him—they're working overtime. They're making sure he's as comfortable as possible without out making it blatantly obvious as to what they're up to."

Julia nodded slowly, a small smile forming on her face. "Good," she muttered. "Is he eating all right?"

Remus raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Sirius is sitting in a jail cell, possible awaiting a fate worse than death, and you're worried about how he's eating?"

Julia's smile widened a bit. "He's much too thin, Remus. He used to be a bottomless bit when it came to food, and now you can see his ribs."

"He'll be fine," he said, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. "Sirius is strong. How do you think he survived Azkaban?"

"Because James talked him into becoming an Animagus," Julia said promptly.

Remus laughed. "I don't think it took too much convincing on either part, actually."

"They did that for you, you know," Julia smiled.

"I know."

"So I suppose it's because of you Sirius was able to survive Azkaban."

Remus only smiled, wondering how their conversation had drifted from him trying to comfort her to her comforting him. "Come on, let's get this kitchen cleaned up and go watch television with Harry."

* * *

The night before Sirius' trial, Remus lay wide awake in his bed, his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He and Julia would both, of course, testify on Sirius' behalf along with Dumbledore during the trial. Peter would be brought before the Wizengamot when Dumbledore was sure there was no other way Sirius would be declared innocent. Remus thought they should drag Peter into the center of the courtroom before any of the questioning began. The Headmaster wasn't against the idea, but he stated that certain protocol must be followed to ensure they received the outcome they so desperately wanted—

The hallway floorboards began to creak. Remus had lived in that cottage for his entire life, and he knew from much experience that the only time the floorboards creaked was when somebody was trying to sneak through the halls unheard. A slight paranoia caught up to him and he reached for his wand on the bedside table, throwing his blankets to his feet. Very quietly, he opened his bedroom door and went into the hallway, his wand held at the ready. His eyes adjusted and he saw a small form peeking at him from the bathroom door.

"Harry?" Remus said, lowering his wand immediately, placing it in the elastic of his pajama pants. "What are you doing up?"

"I had to go to the bathroom," said the tired six-year-old's voice.

"Okay. Do you want me to wait?" Remus asked, going down the hall.

Harry shrugged shyly as he closed the bathroom door. While he was inside, Remus took the time to check in on Julia. She was sleeping a bit restlessly, a teddy bear Sirius had given her years ago held tightly to her chest.

If something was to go wrong tomorrow, and Sirius was taken back to Azkaban, Remus couldn't see Julia taking it very well at all—not that he would react any better. He'd be surprised if she didn't charge at the dementors as they led Sirius away. She would be responsible for Harry's upbringing—Remus would help as best he could. But Julia would never be the same. There could only be so many disappointments one person could take before their mind started blocking everything around them.

But the Wizengamot couldn't ignore the fact that Peter was still alive. If they did they were completely blind to the obvious. Another thing Remus had thought about often was Sirius' wand. Somebody had performed _Priori Incantatem _with it. The spell must have proved Sirius hadn't used the wand to blow up that Muggle street, killing all those people in London. Remus would really have liked to know who had control of Sirius' wand while he was in Azkaban. Mad-Eye and Kingsley said they'd kept it in Auror Headquarters in the Head Auror's office under many charms. Only someone high up in the Ministry would have been able to get into that office and access Sirius' wand...

"Remus..." said a hesitant voice from behind him.

Remus closed Julia's bedroom door and turned to face Harry. He led the child down the hall silently to the office-turned-bedroom he and Julia had arranged for Harry. Harry climbed into his bed, and Remus sat beside him, tucking the blankets around him tightly.

"When's Sirius coming back?" Harry asked quietly.

"Soon, Harry, very soon," Remus assured him, hoping it wasn't a lie. "Do you miss him?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I like Sirius. He's funny," he said with a shy smile.

Remus chuckled. "You only think that because you haven't known him for half of your life." He grinned. He removed Harry's glasses from his face and set them on the bedside table. "You'll see Sirius again soon. I'm sure he misses you too, very much."

"Did Sirius do something bad?"

Remus resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow, something that took a lot of discipline on his part. "Why would you think that, Harry?"

Harry half-shrugged. "When Julia took me to London yesterday to buy me robes, I heard people talking. They said Sirius did really bad things, and that he should be taken away somewhere, and someone should kiss him."

Remus closed his eyes tightly and bit his lip to keep from swearing. "Don't listen to those people, Harry," he said firmly. "They think they know the truth, but they're very, _very_ wrong. Sirius is a good person, one of the best I've ever known in my entire life. He's very loyal, very trustworthy... and he loves his friends very much." Remus didn't want to tell Harry that for the better part of the last five years he didn't think those things about Sirius; in fact, he'd thought the complete opposite. "Get some sleep, Harry. We've got a long day tomorrow, okay?" Harry nodded sleepily and Remus kissed his forehead. "Good night, Harry," he said as the child closed his eyes.

* * *

Dumbledore tried suggesting Harry go to Arabella Figg's home during the trial, but after a glare from Julia, he retracted his suggestion almost immediately. Sirius would want to see Harry today. It would help him get through this trial if he had his family—Remus, Julia, and Harry—cheering him on.

Julia dressed Harry in a set of dark green dress robes, and attempted in vain to flatten the untidy black hair he'd inherited from James. Remus entered the bedroom in dark blue robes and smiled at Julia as she stood from where she knelt before Harry. She tried to smile back, but knew she failed miserably.

"His hair won't lie flat," she muttered, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry about his hair, Julia," Remus said quietly. "It's time to go."

"Are we going to see Sirius?" Harry asked happily.

Julia wiped her eyes and smiled as she took Harry into her arms. "Yeah, Harry, we're going to see Sirius now."


	15. Fifteen

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Fifteen_

Remus, Julia, and Harry arrived in the Ministry of Magic Atrium through the fireplaces, and didn't speak as they made their way to the lifts—neither Remus nor Julia trusted their voices. The lift stopped at level nine and the golden grilles slid open, and the friends made their way to courtroom ten. Dumbledore awaited them just outside the door with a smile on his face. He explained that he would be an observer over this trial, that he was too closely involved to make a ruling. The Headmaster greeted Harry with a smile and the child smiled back before burying his head in Julia's shoulder.

"Let's go in, shall we? They will begin soon," Dumbledore said quietly, holding the door open for Sirius' family.

They entered the dungeon-like courtroom, and Julia's grip around Harry unconsciously increased as she set eyes on the wooden chair in the center of the room that would, in a few minutes, bind Sirius to it by the chains that covered its arms. Remus led her up the stone benches and they took their seats beside Dumbledore. Remus noticed Cornelius Fudge and Delores Umbridge both had very bitter looks on their ugly faces today.

The doors to the courtroom opened suddenly minutes later, and the buzz of conversation died out almost immediately. Remus reached over to pull Harry onto his lap and took Julia's trembling hand in his own. Sirius was led into the courtroom, his head held high, not by dementors—though Remus was sure they were standing just outside the stone doors—but by Mad-Eye and Kingsley. He looked all right; though looking closely, Remus could see his grey eyes filled with fear and worry.

The Aurors sat him in the metal chair—the chains springing to life and wrapping themselves around Sirius' arms. Kingsley bent close to Sirius on the pretense of checking the strength of the chains. When he stood straight and backed away to stand beside Mad-Eye at the edge of the courtroom, Sirius' eyes scanned the crowd of witches and wizards who'd come to see the outcome of his trial. His eyes finally found Remus, Julia, and Harry, and he breathed a noticeable sigh of relief, attempting and failing, to smile.

"Why did they chain him?" Harry asked indignantly and loudly. A few spectators turned to see who'd made the noise. "Are they going to hurt him?"

"No, Harry, he's okay. See, he's smiling at us," Remus said quietly. Harry leaned his head against Remus' chest and sighed. It was obvious that the boy wanted nothing more than to run to his godfather.

Fudge cleared his throat loudly, and called the proceedings to order, his voice ringing coldly through the courtroom. "Sirius Black," he said, his voice laced with malice and impatience, "you are here today to face charges of thirteen murders on the morning of 1 November 1981. Do you deny these charges?"

"Yes," Sirius said loudly and clearly.

Fudge muttered something along the lines of "of course you do," before continuing. "We have fifty eyewitnesses from that day that say they saw you curse Peter Pettigrew, causing a street to explode and kill twelve Muggles, along with Pettigrew."

"Yes," Remus muttered angrily. "But it's kind of difficult for your witnesses to testify when they've been Obliviated..."

"It wasn't me!" Sirius said loudly. There were a few bitter laughs from the Wizengamot before a woman who closely resembled a toad sat forward.

"The Chair recognizes Delores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," Fudge said, sitting back in his chair.

Remus bit back a growl as she spoke in a sickly girlish voice. "You say, Mister Black, that it was not you who murdered those poor, innocent Muggles and your best friend. But if it wasn't you, Mister Black, then who in the world was it?" She smiled coldly, gazing upon Sirius with feigned interest.

Sirius sighed heavily and looked up to the benches where his family sat, knowing exactly how his answer would be taken. Remus and Julia nodded encouragingly. "Peter Pettigrew," he said clearly.

Just as predicted, the entire courtroom raised their eyebrows almost simultaneously and began muttering about the delusions Azkaban filled Sirius' head with. Sirius rolled his eyes angrily, and started to explain loudly what really happened in 1981. None of them listened, however, and Sirius was just wasting his breath.

Finally, and probably just for a few laughs, Fudge began to call witnesses on Sirius' behalf. Remus was called first, and one of the first things he was asked, after his name and birth date, was whether it was true that he was a registered lycanthrope. Dumbledore stood in defense of Remus and reminded the court quite calmly, that Remus being a werewolf had nothing to do with these proceedings. After questions of how long he'd known Sirius, what Sirius' temperament was like as a teenager, and what he knew about the charges Sirius faced, Remus was dismissed and went back to sit beside Julia and Harry.

Julia was questioned next, and was almost immediately discredited as a witness when her relationship with Sirius was revealed. Of course she'd say anything to get him freed... Looking bitter, Julia returned to her seat as well, but not before sending Sirius a shaky smile and a wink.

The moment of truth arrived when Dumbledore took the stand. He answered the Wizengamot's questions patiently, calmly even, and waited for Fudge to ask him if he had anything more to say on Sirius' behalf. Remus sat up as straight as he could manage with Harry on his lap, glancing at the eager look on Sirius' face.

Dumbledore reached into the pocket of his purple robes and removed a small glass cage. Many of those present in the courtroom craned their necks and squinted their eyes in the dimly lit room to see the contents of the cage.

Fudge was the first to realize what was in the cage. "What is the meaning of this, Dumbledore?" he asked loudly. "Bringing rodents into a courtroom!"

"Oh, this is no ordinary rat, Cornelius," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "If you will allow me to demonstrate...?"

For a moment, Fudge looked as if he wanted nothing more than to tell Dumbledore to jump off a cliff, but Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, leaned forward and whispered something to the Minister. Fudge looked ready to blow a vein in his forehead. "Very well, Dumbledore. Get on with it," he finally said impatiently.

Dumbledore smiled politely and inclined his head. "Thank you, Cornelius."

The Headmaster opened the lid of the cage and pulled Wormtail out by the tail with his long thumb and forefinger. Dumbledore placed the sleeping rat on the floor of the courtroom and took out his wand, pointing it at the rat. After a muttered spell, a white light flooded the courtroom and a moment later, there were loud gasps from the witnesses of the trial as well as the Wizengamot.

After a long, shocked silence, Fudge stood, his hands grasping the edge of the bench, looking visibly pale. "What do you think you're playing at, Dumbledore?" he said shakily.

"I am merely supporting Sirius Black's version of events from 1 November 1981," Dumbledore said calmly. "Peter Pettigrew is very much alive, Cornelius, as you can very well see."

The members of the Wizengamot stared at the unconscious form of Wormtail at a loss for words, so Dumbledore continued. "As you all very well know, Sirius has been charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew. But how can he possibly be guilty of this crime if the victim is lying before us? You may also notice that Pettigrew is missing a finger on his right hand, the very finger found at the scene of the very gruesome crime. What I am getting at, Cornelius," Dumbledore said before Fudge could open his mouth, "is that Sirius Black was framed by someone he thought to be a close friend, someone to which he entrusted the lives of Lily, James, and Harry Potter. Sirius was not their Secret-Keeper—Pettigrew was. I trust you will make the correct decision regarding the life of an innocent man." With that, Dumbledore took his seat once more, his hands folded in his lap, his face gazing at the Wizengamot in polite interest, allowing the stunned silence to refill the courtroom.

Julia took hold of Remus' hand once more, seeking a reassurance they both so desperately needed. In the next few minutes, Sirius' fate would be decided. Either he would be free to live the life he'd been denied for five years, or he would be sent back to Azkaban prison to receive the Dementor's Kiss.

The Wizengamot turned to one another, many of their opinions shown plainly on their faces. After long minutes of nearly panicked whispers—some of the longest minutes Julia had ever faced—Fudge turned back to the court, his face very tense. But it was Amelia Bones who spoke. "In the face of this new evidence, those in favor of the conviction of Sirius Orion Black?" There were only three hands raised—Fudge, Umbridge, and an older wizard. Julia barely held back her squeal of joy. "And those in favor of clearing all charges?" There was no need to even count hands.

The chains fell from Sirius' arms, and he remained sitting, staring in disbelief at the courtroom in general. Mad-Eye and Kingsley quickly moved forward to remove Wormtail from the courtroom, as many witches and wizards showed signs of wanting to investigate him further.

Slowly, Sirius stood as though he was testing whether the chair would pull him back. Once he realized that he was indeed free, he didn't even have the chance to look up into the high benches before something small slammed into him, nearly causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. He looked down and saw a familiar mass of untidy black hair hugging him around his knees.

"Hey, kid!" he cried, picking up his godson from the stone floor. He hugged the child tightly, tearing up at the thought of how close he'd come to never seeing him again. Then he laughed, wondering how he could have ever doubted Dumbledore's plan. He finally looked past Harry and saw Remus quickly approaching him with a broad smile. Sirius reluctantly put Harry back on the ground, keeping his hand on top of his godson's head, smiling back at his best friend.

Remus cleared his throat importantly, bowing deeply to Sirius. "Mister Moony wishes to congratulate Mister Padfoot on his superb restraint from attacking the members of the Wizengamot."

Sirius forced his smile away with some difficulty and returned Remus' bow. "Mister Padfoot accepts Mister Moony's congratulations with much appreciation, and hopes desperately that Mister Moony has an ample supply of firewhiskey at his home."

Remus laughed loudly and pulled his best friend into at tight, brotherly embrace. "Welcome back, Sirius."

"Thank you, Remus," Sirius said allowing his smile to reappear.

Someone beside the two friends cleared their throat, and they looked around to see Julia tapping her foot impatiently with a large smile on her face. "If you're quite finished, Remus, I'd like to give Sirius my own congratulations."

"Of course," Remus said with a grin to Sirius. "Come on, Harry, let's go see Professor Dumbledore. I think you're too young to see this anyway."

Sirius and Julia smiled at one another for a few moments before the wizard could no longer take not holding her, and closed the remaining distance between them. He picked her up from the ground, spinning her around, her legs wrapping around his waist. They laughed for a moment when he stopped and she leaned down to kiss him rather passionately, ignoring the looks and mutters from some of those leaving the courtroom. They pulled back from their kiss when the need for air revealed itself long minutes later. Sirius put her back on the ground, though they were still holding each other tightly.

"You know," Sirius said quietly and a bit hesitantly, "technically speaking, we never actually broke off our engagement..." He'd wanted to mention this for weeks, and he wasn't sure why he was so nervous about her reaction.

She looked up from where she'd buried her head in his chest and smiled brightly. "What are you trying to say, Mister Black?"

"Well, I'm wondering if you're still willing to marry me."

She rolled her eyes, still smiling, and kissed him again. When they pulled apart from each other, their lips only millimeters away, she breathed, "That's my answer, by the way."

He nodded dumbly, grinning like and idiot. "Okay, then," he said hoarsely. "Can we go home now? I don't think this is the place for us to do our celebrating..."


	16. Sixteen

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Sixteen_

The weeks following Sirius' declared innocence by the Ministry of Magic were quite eventful.

Wormtail recovered from his unconscious state in one of the Ministry's holding cells. He was informed by Mad-Eye Moody who'd been standing guard over the prisoner, after a swift kick to his ribs, what his current position was, and what would happen to him in the coming days. Wormtail would receive a trial before the Wizengamot—though he didn't deserve such humane treatment—and pending a guilty ruling—which he would undoubtedly receive, Mad-Eye assured him—would be sent to Azkaban where he belonged.

Cornelius Fudge had been discredited in his position as Minister of Magic and would be replaced in the coming months by Amelia Bones. Delores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, was discovered to have been at the center of the mystery of Sirius' wand. After a bit of detective work by Kingsley Shacklebolt, there was charmed video footage of Umbridge breaking into Moody's office, disabling the charms surrounding Sirius' wand, and performing _Priori Incantatem_ with said wand. According to the results of the charm, the last spell Sirius cast before his arrest by Ministry Aurors was a summoning charm for a bottle of butterbeer.

Umbridge was arrested for withholding evidence in Sirius' case, and would receive a cell across from Wormtail for all of her trouble.

Not many in the Ministry were sad to see her go.

Back at Remus' cottage, Sirius couldn't remember ever being happier than he currently was. Julia busied herself with wedding plans, sorting out all the tedious details with a close friend of hers from the Order of the Phoenix, Emmeline Vance. Emmeline began spending a lot of time at the cottage sorting through wedding catalogues with Julia, suggesting flower arrangements, and all the other things weddings required. Sirius noticed Remus began spending a lot of _his_ free time asking the girls if they needed anything...

Harry was adjusting well to his new family. As a surprise, Sirius had gone to Diagon Alley and bought three of the newest broomsticks on the market—one each for him, Harry, and Remus—Julia didn't fancy flying much. The shyness Harry had when he'd first come to his new guardians began to fade with time, though he was still wary of strangers.

The day came when Sirius reluctantly suggested that he, Julia, Harry should go back to his flat in London. He didn't want to mention it to Remus; the werewolf had become quite attached to Harry in a short time. At first when Sirius mentioned it after dinner one night, Remus looked hurt at the suggestion his friends were leaving him—he'd only just gotten used to having them around again. But he put up no arguments and even said it was the right decision—Harry shouldn't be around for the full moons.

Sensing her friend's hurt feelings, Julia told Remus someone would need to take care of Harry during the day—Sirius had been offered a position in the Auror department at the Ministry, and was due to start within the week. Remus, naturally, accepted the offer without hesitation, but flat-out refused to allow Sirius and Julia to pay him.

"Moony, if you do not accept compensation for watching Harry," Sirius said with a straight face, "I will have to curse you." To enhance his point, he pointed his wand at his best friend.

Remus looked as though he'd prefer Sirius' curse rather than accepting money for babysitting Harry, but he recalled that Sirius had come up with some rather creative hexes in his day. Seeing the joking gleam in Sirius' eyes, Remus smiled. "You're the world's biggest git, Padfoot." He chuckled.

Sirius grinned. "Think of it this way, Moony: Without us here to cramp your style, you and Emmeline Vance can have a chance to get to know one another..." Remus glared at him, but was in higher spirits for the rest of the night.

Harry wasn't at all thrilled with leaving the cottage and Remus. The adults assured him he would see Remus every day. "Harry," Sirius said, "you're going to see so much of Remus you're going to get sick of him after a while."

Sirius earned a slap in the back of his head from Julia and Remus for that.

* * *

Two days later, Julia and Sirius were settled back into their flat. The guest room was quickly converted into Harry's bedroom with so many toys that Remus wondered if the child even knew they all existed.

Julia was tucking Harry into bed late one night while Sirius and Remus sat together on a black leather sofa in the living room drinking butterbeer, reminiscing.

"A lot of good memories here," Sirius said fondly, looking around the home he'd bought when he was seventeen. Julia had kept it mostly the same after he'd been arrested—something that surprised him immensely; he'd thought she would have wanted anything and everything associated with him to be disposed of.

Remus laughed suddenly, causing Sirius to look at him questioningly. "Remember that night you and James thought it would be a right smart idea to cook for all of us?"

Sirius groaned at the memory but smiled. "How could I forget? You all ran out of here gasping for air, and I couldn't get the smell or the black spots out of here for a month." He chuckled. "Lily never let James live that night down..."

"What? You think _Julia's_ let you live it down? If she's forgotten, I need to remind her of a few things," Remus said taking a sip of his butterbeer. The two friends sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Remus spoke again. "Are you excited about the wedding?"

Sirius smiled and his eyes lit up. "Yeah," he said dreamily. After a few more silent minutes of Sirius daydreaming about his wedding day, his face became oddly tense. "Er, listen, about the wedding..." Sirius set his bottle on the coffee table and ran a hand through his long hair nervously. "I, um, I was wondering if you'd be my best man. I mean, I know I always said it'd be James, but obviously he can't do it, and you've always been my second choice. Not that I think of you any less than James," he added hastily, "but... will you?"

Normally, Remus probably would have burst out laughing at Sirius' ramblings. Instead, he felt oddly teary-eyed as he smiled. "I'd be honored, Sirius," he said quietly and sincerely.

* * *

On an unnaturally warm afternoon in mid-November, a small group congregated on the shore of the Hogwarts Lake. Standing before the party was Albus Dumbledore, smiling down on a couple just under a large beech tree.

She wore a traditional white dress, nothing too frilly—she'd never been one for dressing up. Her long, brown hair was braided, her face bright with pure happiness, her dark blue eyes shining with love, and perhaps a fresh wave of tears. He wore black dress robes, his hair cut shorter than normal—she'd always liked it just above his shoulders. His formally dull grey eyes now alive with thousands of emotions only she could cause him to feel.

Standing by her side was her maid of honor, a tall witch with long black hair. Standing by his side was his best friend, his brother, looking prouder than anyone had ever seen him. Between the couple stood a small boy of six-years-old with unruly black hair, emerald green eyes, and black dress robes. He carried a satin pillow with two rings that he held out to them.

With a slightly shaking hand, Sirius reached down and took a thin silver band of diamonds from the pillow, holding it before Julia's awaiting finger. In a slight daze, he repeated the vows Dumbledore recited, and slipped the ring gently on her finger. "I love you," he whispered softly, staring deeply into her eyes.

She smiled, unable to return the words at the moment—her throat seemed to have locked up due to her emotions. She took a golden band with three diamonds from the pillow Harry held out and also repeated the Dumbledore's words before placing the ring on Sirius' finger. "I love you too," she finally whispered back, her cheeks soaked with tears.

Dumbledore's lips twitched as Sirius pulled her to him a second later. "I would say you may now kiss the bride, but it still seems Sirius does not like to follow tradition!"

Nearly five minutes later—the wedding guests were quite amused they could go on with _that_ kind of energy for that long—the newly-wedded couple pulled away from one another, smiling broadly.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore said happily, his arms spread out wide. "May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Sirius Black!" A dozen cheers filled the school's grounds—Hagrid's could be heard in Hogsmeade—as Sirius picked up his godson and hugged him tightly. With Harry in one arm, Sirius took Julia's hand tightly in his free one and led the party to an area around Hagrid's cabin where they would have a small reception.

Remus watched them for a moment, a wide smile on his face, his own cheeks streaked with tears, unable to think of anyone who deserved this more than his two best friends.

"Would you care to join me for a drink, Remus?" asked a voice from beside him.

He turned and smiled at Emmeline. "I'd love to," he said, extending his arm to her.

During the party that went on through the night, Minerva McGonagall approached Sirius and Julia dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. She extended her congratulations to the couple, and surprised everyone present by giving Sirius a hug and kiss on the cheek. She then quickly excused herself from the party, claiming she had to prepare for the next day's lessons.

"But it's Saturday!" Sirius called after her. "Damn," he muttered, turning to his wife and friends. "I really wanted to dance with her, too."

Julia raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm sorry to say you'll have to settle for me, Sirius."

Sirius grinned and shrugged. "I must do what I must do," he said before taking her in his arms again.

Harry began to fall asleep around ten p.m., so Remus took him into Hagrid's hut and laid him on the half-giant's large bed. He went back outside and sat on the steps of the hut, watching Julia dance happily with Dumbledore. He'd known the old wizard for most of his life, but was still quite surprised to see how graceful he moved across the grass.

Sirius stood by the refreshment table talking with Emmeline Vance. Remus raised an eyebrow at the pair, but realized quickly what his best friend was up to. Emmeline looked over her shoulder at Remus and blushed a bit as she smiled and turned back to Sirius. He smiled back and stood to cross the lawn. Sirius met him halfway and muttered something along the lines of "no need to thank me, Moony," before greeting Hagrid quite loudly.

Remus approached Emmeline rather shyly. "Should I apologize for Sirius' behavior, or just wipe any memory of the last five minutes from your mind?" he asked with a grin.

Emmeline laughed. "No need for either, actually. Sirius was the perfect gentleman," she said.

Remus raised an eyebrow again. "Now that I don't believe. You've known him for years and you still think he's a gentleman? Wow..." he said shaking his head in mock-disbelief.

"He's not that bad." She smiled.

"Maybe not _that_ bad, but he does have his moments," Remus protested. The two exchanged small talk while Remus tried to build up the courage to ask her to dance. Finally, he did, and she accepted.

Albus Dumbledore stood on the side of the party watching the two couples, his eyes twinkling, and a small smile on his face. He always said the world needed more love...


	17. Epilogue

_**Broken**_

By Neurotica

_Epilogue_

In the center of a forest in Kent stood a large two-story house. It was relatively new; its owners only had it built about three years previous when they grew weary of the hustle and bustle of London. On the second landing in a good-sized office whose walls were covered with photos, bookshelves, and other mementos sat a woman with long brown hair tied back and looking as though she'd run her hands through it many times in frustration. She was bent over her desk in front of a large window writing furiously in a Muggle notebook.

For the better part of four years, she'd dedicated her time and energy to a project she'd had in her mind since she'd been fifteen years of age. It was a love story, really, but with all the heartbreak and fantasy and misery that real life sometimes had. Soon she'd finish and would be able to send her precious work to a publisher and hope for the best. She'd actually been against having this particular work published—what if it was rejected and all of her hard work was for nothing?

Her husband, however, had been quite supportive of her work. "Who cares what those idiots think?" he'd asked her one night after she'd spoken her worries aloud. "If one rejects it—which they won't, because this is brilliant—then send it to another."

Thanks to him, she'd been able to complete her work. After this, she could relax some and take care of her ever-growing family. She looked away from her notebook and her eyes automatically moved to the silver picture frame that held a moving picture of her beautiful family.

Six years ago, she never would have thought she could be this happy. She had everything she ever dreamed of and then some. Her husband, her godson, her daughter, her two best friends, and their son—they were her life.

She sighed happily and went back to her notebook, not noticing the time. When her mind was solely on her writing, she could not hear or concentrate on anything else. And that was how he was able to sneak into the office and begin kissing her neck.

"Sirius!" she squealed, trying to squirm away.

"Mmm?" he muttered, pulling aside the collar of her shirt to begin an assault on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked, not wanting to admit she was enjoying her husband's lips on her shoulder.

Sirius smiled against her neck. "We've got to take our godson to the school train," he murmured.

"Already?" she whined, turning to look him in the eyes. "But I don't wanna..."

Sirius rested his chin on her shoulder and chuckled. "You're worse than Moony and me, Jules."

She glared. "What if I just decide I don't want to let him go? What will you do then, Black?" Julia asked.

"You would actually deny him the chance to go to Hogwarts?" Sirius said incredulously. "After all the stories we've told him... You would do that to him?"

Julia sighed. "No," she muttered resignedly. "Are Remus and Emmeline here yet?"

"Any minute now," Sirius said, reaching over to take the blue ballpoint pen from her hand. She glared at him again. "Come on, let's go downstairs, love."

Sighing again, Julia allowed Sirius to remove her from her chair and lead her down the stairs.

Eleven-year-old Harry Potter sat on a black trunk with his initials emblemized on both ends. He was holding the hands of a small girl of three years old with long black hair and navy blue eyes with a hint of silver. The little girl bounced all over the front hall—Harry was the only thing holding her in place.

"Mummy!" she cried happily wrenching her arms from the boy she thought of as a brother, and running into her mother's awaiting arms.

Julia laughed and groaned as she stood with her daughter. "You're getting heavy, Jasmine. And why are you so hyper this early in the morning? Daddy's been giving you sugar quills again, hasn't he?" She turned to glare at her husband again who busied himself with examining Harry's new pet owl, Hedwig. Julia rolled her eyes and set Jasmine back on the floor, allowing her to run about their large home to look for her dolls. "Do you have your train ticket, Harry?"

"Julia, the boy has everything; you packed his trunk yourself. Twice, actually," Sirius said with a grin.

"You frustrate me, Sirius Black," Julia muttered. "And I believe I was asking Harry."

"I've got everything, Julia. My ticket's in my pocket," Harry said, trying not to laugh at the glare his godmother sent his godfather.

"Uncle Moony!" Jasmine called from the living room window. A second later, a small blur shot past them and tried to pull open the door. Sirius charmed it to remain closed until one of the older residents of the house opened it—his daughter had a bit of a habit of running out when Remus and Emmeline walked up the front path.

Sirius chuckled at the three-year-old's eagerness and opened the door for her. She sped down the lawn and was met by Remus, who'd very intelligently knelt down to prepare himself for the impact.

Julia moved to the open door and smiled. Remus and Emmeline had been married just before Jasmine's birth three years ago. Due to Remus' condition, they were worried about having children—what if they were infected with Remus' curse? When Emmeline announced six months after their wedding that she was pregnant, Sirius was sure his best friend was going to have a nervous breakdown. But nine months later, Alexander James Lupin was born with no signs of Lycanthropy. He'd been carefully watched in the first few months of his birth, and the most serious symptom he ever developed was fatigue on the full moon. The nearly two-year-old boy had his father's blue eyes and sandy-blond hair. He was incredibly bright for his age—no doubt inherited from his parents—and could already write his name if one knew what to look for on paper.

"Well, it's about time!" Sirius greeted loudly.

The Lupins rolled their eyes simultaneously, something that Sirius found both annoying and amusing. "What are you on about?" Remus called, adjusting Jasmine on his shoulders. "We're early!"

Sirius snatched his young godson from Emmeline's arms and kissed her cheek. "So are we ready to be rid of Harry for a few months?" he asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Hey! I heard that!" Harry called indignantly from the front porch

Sirius grinned at his godson. "Get your trunk and your owl, Harry; we've got to be going."

* * *

Harry stared at the brick wall that lead to Platform 9 ¾ and the Hogwarts Express with a raised eyebrow. Though his godparents, Remus, and Emmeline had explained to him hundreds of times how to get through, he still couldn't help but feel they were setting him up for a prank. Julia and Emmeline weren't really the types to want to see him run into a brick wall, but they did have their pranking moments.

"Harry, honestly," Julia said patiently. "We're not messing with you..." Harry still didn't believe them.

"Would you like one of us to go first?" Remus asked soothingly, adjusting his son's weight in his arms. Harry nodded.

Sighing impatiently, Sirius offered to go. He handed Jasmine off to Julia and looked around, waiting for a few Muggles to pass. Whistling, he casually leaned against the brick wall and disappeared through the barrier. Harry stared open-mouthed at where his godfather disappeared.

"You believe us now?" Emmeline grinned.

Harry turned to look at her, still not sure about this whole walking-through-a-solid-brick-wall business. Sirius could have just Apparated away to increase the effect of their prank... "Right..." he said slowly, finally willing to go along with whatever they'd planned. He adjusted the grip on his trolley holding his trunk and owl, and pushed forward, remembering what Julia said about a running start if he was nervous. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared himself for what was sure to be a rather painful collision with a brick wall.

Instead of a wall, though, he felt a cool rush of air around his body. He'd kept moving; he hadn't crashed into the wall.

"Took you long enough," Harry heard his godfather say. He opened his eyes and felt them widen. Standing before him was the scarlet Hogwarts Express, steam billowing from it as students boarded. "You may want to move, mate," Sirius chuckled, pulling Harry aside just before Julia, Remus, Emmeline, Alexander, and Jasmine came through.

"So what d'you think?" Remus asked quietly, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Brilliant," Harry breathed. The adults smiled knowingly behind him.

Sirius and Remus loaded his belongings onto the train while Julia and Emmeline fretted over him last minute.

"Be good, Harry, no matter what that oaf who calls himself your godfather has told you," Julia said, trying to flatten his hair. She only did it out of habit anymore; she knew it was no use.

"Study hard, and listen to your professors," Emmeline chimed in, hugging him tightly and kissing his forehead.

Harry promised he'd be good, and bent down to say goodbye to Jasmine. The small girl had begged to go with him—she usually didn't stray too far from him at home. He promised to write—even though she couldn't read yet—and he'd see her soon. She was still quite upset.

After more hugs from Julia and Emmeline, Remus and Sirius pulled him away and helped him find an empty compartment on the train. Following their own last minute instructions ("Don't let Snape give you too much grief"; "Try not to get too many detentions"; "Kick Mrs. Norris for me...") the two older wizards realized it was time to say goodbye as well.

Sirius hugged Harry tightly, probably tighter than was really necessary, dropped a kiss on his unruly head of hair, muttered, "I love you," and got off the train rather quickly, wiping at his eyes gruffly.

Remus and Harry watched him go with raised eyebrows. "He'll be all right," Remus assured the boy. "Once he gets over the shock of not having you in the house, that is."

Harry smiled and hugged Remus next. "You'll do well, Harry," Remus muttered in his hair. "Write often so the girls and Sirius don't go insane..."

"I will," Harry muttered with a short chuckle in Remus' chest.

"You'll make loads of friends. But if you get homesick, just let us know, and we'll see about visiting, all right?"

Harry nodded and pulled away from Remus. The elder's eyes were oddly bright. "See you at Christmas, then," Harry said.

Remus smiled and nodded. "See you at Christmas," he said quietly before hopping off the train to join his wife and friends.

Harry settled in the compartment bench closest to the window, waving at his family.

As the train pulled away from the station, Julia smiled and waved at Harry one last time just before his face disappeared around a corner.

"Well," Remus said quietly, putting an arm around Emmeline's waist, their son in her arms. "Not much point in sticking around here..." The others murmured their agreement and they made their way back through the barrier again.

Walking with her daughter in one arm, Sirius' hand in her other, Julia thought of the perfect ending for her story; though it was horribly cliché and a bit cheesy, she thought it fit perfectly:

And they lived happily ever after.

End


End file.
